President Yoon Suk-yeol has been considering appointing Lee Ju-ho, the former science and education minister under the Lee Myung-bak administration, as the second education minister in his administration. The post of education minister has been vacant for some 50 days since the former minister Park Soon-ae’s resignation. Park offered to resign 35 days after taking office following controversies related to her proposal of lowering the school entry age to five. Lee was the head of the defu

The National Education Commission will finally be launched, after two months of hiccups, but concerns over its legitimacy remain. The education committee will be launched two members short, with 19 members. The committee is tasked with deliberating on long-term education policies for the country, from national education curriculum to college entrance measures. While the committee will decide on mid- and long-term education goals and policies, the Education Ministry will work on the de

Soongsil University has kicked off a new employment support program to train its students in computing skills. The university announced a program which allows students to learn a total of 52 computing skills needed these days to get a job, such as Python programming, big data analysis, Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, illustration, financial accounting, AutoCAD and more. The school explained the computing skills are required as necessary abilities for various kinds of jobs. In line with the pande

The launch of a national education committee is being stalled as related bodies dispute the right to recommend members. The committee, tasked with deliberating on long-term education policy, was initially scheduled to be launched in July. While the committee is to have 21 members, the National Assembly, entitled to recommend nine of the committee members, has so far selected only two nominees. The president has the right to name five. Education-related bodies can also recommend a total of two m

With schools returning to normalcy, more students are experiencing school violence, a survey from the Education Ministry showed. The Ministry of Education announced the results of a survey on school violence conducted by local education offices across Korea on Tuesday. The North Jeolla Province Education Office was not included, as it decided to run an individual survey. Some 3.21 million out of 3.87 million students participated in the survey, marking an 82.9 percent response rate. The survey

The Ministry of Education took a step back as the dispute over history textbook guidelines deepened, saying the plan has not been finalized yet. The Education Ministry released new guidelines for high school history textbooks on Tuesday. In the new guidelines, phrases such as "southward invasion (by North Korea)" and “liberal democracy" were left out. The phrases touch on some sensitive disputes in the country’s modern history. The revision of history textbooks was l

The award ceremony for the 51st Korea Herald English Speech Contest was held at the Australian Embassy in the Republic of Korea in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Tuesday. The Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Catherine Raper, Vice-Chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea Jo Billing, The Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young, The Korea Herald Vice President Shin Yong-bae and more were in attendance. “I believe we could have the next generation of Korean leaders right

Amid the ongoing pandemic, schools in Seoul are to continue normal operations, with the local education office promising to strengthen support for students’ mental health. “All schools will run under ‘normalcy attendance’ scheme in the second semester, operating face-to-face classes,” Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon said at a press briefing at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Tuesday. “If the spread of COVID-19 worsens, however, schools can auton

Following the plan to nurture 150,000 skilled workers in the semiconductor industry over the next 10 years, the Korean government aims to nurture 1 million skilled workers for the digital industry within the next five years. The Ministry of Education announced on Monday that in cooperation with other ministries, it will train 1 million skilled workers for the digital industry by 2026, by doubling the number of information technology curriculum hours for elementary and secondary schools and re

The Ministry of Education will lift restrictions on universities’ student quotas as part of its drive to nurture more semiconductor talent. The move, aimed at encouraging universities to open or expand related departments from 2024, is part of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s plans to add 150,000 people to the country’s semiconductor industry workforce over the course of 10 years. On Wednesday, the ministry announced it will give advance notice of an enforcement decree tha

Kookmin University’s faculty association is holding a vote on a proposal to reassess some academic papers written by first lady Kim Keon-hee, despite the university having earlier cleared her of allegations of plagiarism after a monthslong probe. The faculty association at Kookmin University, a Seoul-based university where Kim did her Ph.D. program, has decided to survey professors asking them whether it should reassess the four papers written by Kim. The online survey will continue unti

The Education Ministry is again under fire, this time from teachers against its new all-day schooling policy. With its minister Park Soon-ae announcing her willingness to resign after proposing to lower the elementary school entry age to five, the ministry said it will run all-day schooling programs to offer state-provided childcare. The plan involves elementary schools offering childcare services through afterschool classes until 8 p.m. At the National Assembly meeting held Tuesday, the min

With the education minister offering her resignation, the controversial plan to lower the school entry age to 5 could be shelved, nearly 10 days after it was first introduced. The Education Ministry on Tuesday apologized for a lack of communication concerning the previous report to the president, which proposed the system reform, saying it caused confusion.　 “It has become realistically difficult to push for the lowering of school entry age,” Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon

Education Ministry in a quandary over school entry age plan

With the Education Ministry flip-flopping on its plan to scrap “elite high schools,” foreign language high schools have been once again pushed to the brink of abolition. Confusion has ensued over the fate of elite schools every time the government changed hands. The previous Moon Jae-in administration had planned to end autonomous private high schools, foreign language high schools and international schools, abolishing them or turning them into regular schools by March 2025, over