Row over elite schools

Parents angry over transition of school status

President Moon Jaein's pledge to abolish elite private high schools is facing an intense backlash from the education community, including parents and students.

The pledge was controversial from the beginning of Moon's presidency as it invited criticism that it infringed upon the rights of schools to offer a quality curriculum and limited students' educational choices.

The controversy over the Moon administration's initiative to phase out elite schools, known as "autonomous private high schools," emerged once again when it was announced recently that Sangsan High School in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, had failed to pass the provincial education office's assessment to maintain its current status. The school will lose its status as autonomous if the education minister finally approves the assessment results and will be re-designated as a regular high school.

The school has been designated autonomous for the last 16 years and has been recognized as a top high school in the region. The decision has triggered intense opposition from schools and parents. The parents of students who attend Sangsan High School and parents in Seoul in a similar situation took part in a protest last week to express their concern.

Ansan Dongsan Christian High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, also failed the assessment test and is on the verge of losing its status. Parents held a rally in Suwon in front of the provincial education office, claiming the tests were not conducted fairly and that the provincial education chiefs were approaching the issue politically to submit to President Moon's pledge to abolish autonomous high schools. The schools and parents are even threatening to take legal action to revoke the education authorities' decision to remove their autonomous status.

There are about 40 autonomous high schools across the country. The system was started in 2002 by the Kim Daejung administration to diversify high school education, which had been solely focused on preparing students for the extremely competitive university entrance exam. Although the autonomous schools have had some positive impact on the nation's high school education system, they have also been criticized for catering to the privileged, as their tuition is considerably higher than regular schools, and creating rankings among high schools.

There is no doubt there are serious problems with the nation's high school education, but getting rid of autonomous high schools is not really a fundamental solution. Moon's intention is understandable but the government is not doing a very good job in handling the aftermath of revoking the schools' status. Education Minister Yoo Eunhae held a press conference Monday in light of the latest controversy. The education ministry should ensure that the schools' transition process is conducted in a completely fair manner. The ministry should also increase communication with parents to assuage their rising doubts on this issue.