THE South Korean government plans to introduce an admissions officer system at foreign language high schools. Private education institutes nationwide are quickly preparing to change their curriculum in line with the expected admission policy change, JoongAng Daily has reported.
The final draft of the reform measure came after the South Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology unveiled two tentative options to choose from — letting foreign language schools continue under a few conditions or transforming them into other types of schools. “After discussions with various parties involved, we concluded it is necessary to foster human resources with talent in foreign languages,” said Lee Gyu-seok, head of the ministry’s school education support bureau.
According to the new rule, the existing English listening test will be removed from the screening process and all students will be selected through an admissions officer system, which will measure applicants’ development potential and self-directed study abilities.
Some private education institutes are coping with the new policy by eliminating lessons for English listening skills and creating lessons aimed specifically at admissions officer examinations. “We have no choice but to tutor students focusing on writing good self-introductions and study plans as well as organizing application portfolios rather than English listening,” said the head of a private academy, surnamed Kim. “Our institute is planning to strengthen curriculums for English writing and presentations,” the head of another language institute in southern Seoul added.
Currently, South Korea has 30 foreign language high schools. They are classified as special-purpose high schools, aiming at fostering students with expertise in foreign languages. The nation saw the first foreign language schools in 1984. Such schools became immensely popular from the mid 1990s after they sent a sizable portion of their students to prestigious universities at home and abroad. Since only those with outstanding school records can obtain admission, many applicants choose to attend private education institutes to improve academic performance. As a result, foreign language high schools have been blamed for fanning the nation’s private education fever and increasing financial burdens on households. However, the South Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union said the admissions officer system will create more private education spending, given that the effectiveness and objectivity of the new screening measures have not yet been verified.
