Minister of Education and Human Resources Development Kim Jin Pyo has set off controversy for saying he might consider make changes to Seoul's high school groupings (hakgun) as one way to contribute to real estate policy. Education groups and politicians alike are expressing their concern. Most of the criticism is that education should not be treated as a means for stabilizing housing prices.
It would be realistically difficult to deny that the price of housing in Seoul's Gangnam does relate to the issue of education. However, education must be approached with a long-term understanding, far more so than the cost of housing. It should not be sacrificed to stabilize the price of homes in Gangnam. Nevertheless you hear that the Seoul Board of Education has already begun examining the idea in detail. That work may have started as something to do with policy regarding the cost of housing, but in the course of reviewing the proposal officials must put the highest value on education.
There certainly is a need to make changes in Seoul's current high school categorizations, given the changes in Seoul's neighborhoods. Reducing the 11 groupings and making larger ones would reflect both changes in the way people related to the areas they live in and give students a wider choice in schools. There are improvements to be made in conditions in areas where there are a relatively large number of students at each level. If the plan about first allowing multiple applications and then going to lotteries works right it could have a certain effect. If students of different economic backgrounds and environments mix together as they study it could reduce feelings of incompatibility between social classes and neighborhoods. Good-willed competition and encouragement could promote the pursuit of learning.
However, considering current conditions for education and how high school education concentrates on university entrance there would be far more negative effects than positive ones. It is very likely that there would be an even greater preference for the so-called "prestigious college prep" high schools of places like Gangnam while other schools really would be treated as second-rate. If that were to happen it would mean the end of "standardization" (pyeongjunhwa) in Korean high school education.
Pyeongjunhwa cannot be an educational goal in and of itself, but it does involve educational values that cannot be surrendered. The basic goal that should be pursued by public education is to allow students to not be discriminated against by their previous schools and to have them study under equal conditions. That is something more important than stabilizing the cost of homes in Gangnam and giving students a wider choice of schools to attend. Education officials must not forget that as they make changes to Seoul's high school categories.
The Hankyoreh, 25 August 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Put Education First |
