Four Major Education Initiatives Officially Proposed to the National Policy Planning Committee on July 2
On July 2, superintendents from cities and provinces across the country officially proposed to the new government that both school grades and the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) be changed to an absolute grading system, that the early and regular admissions processes be integrated, and that essay and written-response questions be introduced to the CSAT.
On this day, the National Council of City and Provincial Superintendents of Education (the Council) announced that it had delivered these recommendations, summarized as the "Four Major Education Initiatives," to members of the National Policy Planning Committee.
The four major initiatives proposed by the Council are: ▲ Reforming the college admissions system to better connect high schools and universities ▲ Establishing a collaborative governance system among the central government, local governments, and education offices ▲ Securing stable local education finances ▲ Transferring authority over teacher staffing and establishing a system to protect teachers' rights.
The Council believes that strengthening the connection between high schools and universities is necessary to ensure consistency between high school education and the college admissions system. To achieve this, it proposed overhauling the CSAT by adopting an absolute grading system and introducing essay and written-response questions. The Council also suggested implementing an integrated college admissions process that combines early and regular admissions to reduce the burden on students. For school grades, it recommended expanding performance-based assessments to strengthen process-oriented evaluation. The Council further proposed changing school grades to an absolute grading system and adopting a five-level achievement evaluation system, with all grades from every year, including the second semester of the third year of high school, reflected in college admissions.
Regarding the establishment of collaborative governance among the central government, local governments, and education offices, the Council included a plan to institutionalize the participation of superintendents in the highest-level national policy discussions. This would involve adding city and provincial superintendents as ex officio members to ensure representation in the field of education.
On the issue of local education finances, the Council argued that the "Local Education Finance Grant Act" should be revised to achieve stable local education autonomy. This is due to the volatility of tax revenues linked to domestic tax structures and the method of allocating education taxes, both of which increase financial instability.
In terms of protecting teachers' rights, the Council called for strengthening the existing "Teacher Status Act," establishing safeguards against false reports of child abuse, and enacting new legal grounds for closing such cases.
Kang Eunhee, President of the National Council of City and Provincial Superintendents of Education, stated, "We will actively cooperate with the central government so that the substantial strengthening of educational autonomy and the innovation of local education can directly enhance the competitiveness of national education."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
