Seoul National University (SNU) is reacting strongly to the education ministry and ruling party's demand that it change its entrance procedures proposal. SNU president Jeong Un Chan says plans will not be changed, and the school's professors' organization issued a statement critical of the ruling party. The confrontation is getting emotional. The emotional comments by some in the ruling party have, as the professors noted, made the situation worse. What is needed right now is calm thinking.
SNU's position is that it must be guaranteed autonomy and that its "integrated essay" is not a variety of a bon'gosa, an entrance examination specific to a particular university. Professors are right to say that "university scholarship and education, and the future of the nation, requires that universities have autonomy." Even so, SNU must be given autonomy on the premise it has social responsibility to bear. SNU is acting like it is only members of the National Assembly who are taking issue with it, but it was education-related civic groups that were the first to criticize SNU's entrance procedure proposal. They criticize it for being interested only in "swiping up the students with the best grades." Before they go blaming the politicians, professors should seriously listen to that criticism.
Jeong says in the essay test under development textbooks and "diverse reading from the time of elementary school" will be decisive. The test, however, will be for students currently in high school, and the reality is that schools cannot prepare their students for such a test. There is nothing students can do other than depend on private tutoring. Anything that is out of touch with reality, no matter the intentions, is going to fail. We again would like to emphasize the fact that the government and ruling party on the one hand and SNU on the other need to agonize over ways to liberate students from the hell on university entrance tests instead of engaging in a prideful confrontation.
The Hankyoreh, 9 July 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] SNU 'Autonomy' Must Carry 'Responsibility' |
