[Editorial] Edu Ministry Speaks for Private School Owners

It has just recently been learned that the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development secretly abolished the guidelines for articles of incorporation for the educational foundations that own private educational institutions, and that it did so back on May 23. The guidelines are a list of items the ministry recommends that school-operating organizations include when they establish or amend their articles of incorporation. The guidelines that have been abolished are the ones that require the approval of the local board of education when a private university dismisses a member of its board of directors or installs a new board chairman. The idea was to keep owning foundations from being able to discard board members that they find uncomfortable and to prevent the hiring of corrupt board chairpersons.

Getting rid of those guidelines means that even if the revision to the Private School Law passes in the National Assembly, the key part of that legislation – the "open" board requirement – won't be very effective. That's because those who hold a majority in owning foundations will be able to change their articles of incorporation and get rid of board members they find uncomfortable. Concerns about that are already turning out to have been well based. School foundations have been changing their articles of incorporation ever since the education ministry did away with the guidelines. As of the middle of last month some 34 four-year colleges have changed things so that they can fire board members at will, and 55 of the 61 elementary, middle, and high schools in five education districts, including Incheon and Gyeonggi, have changed their rules to allow for the same.

In other words, the education ministry has opened the door for corrupt foundations to maintain their authority over operations regardless of whether or not the Private School Law is revised or not. Ministry officials say the move was taken to increase school autonomy. How, then, do they explain the fact that private foundations are being allowed to exercise authority over their board of directors and the chairman of the board? It is the organizations that own and operate private educational institutions that are being given autonomy, not the schools themselves. These days these organizations are holding official rallies to pledge resolve about "building clean schools without corruption." Only one among them, however, has resolved to disclose their accounting records. Only three of them have adopted ethical guidelines. Is it because schools know they have the support of education ministry officials that they aren't doing more?

The Hankyoreh, 21 September 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]