Proposal for comprehensive education reform includes combining middle and high schools
Seoul National University professors' association on Monday suggested reforms to South Korea's education system that would allow students to take the college entrance exam multiple times a year, rather than just once as is currently permitted.
The Suneung, or College Scholastic Ability Test, occurs on the third Thursday of November every year, the results of which largely dictate the college admissions process.
The reform plan announced by the SNU Faculty Council seeks, among other things, to ease pressure on test takers by administering the Suenung 3-4 times a year.
Other plans for reform presented by the SNU Faculty Council to the Ministry of Education include combining middle and high schools to provide students with a continuous course of education, which the professors said will help them identify their strengths and the best course for them to take for their futures.
Professor Han Jae-yong of SNU’s Department of Agricultural Biotechnology was quoted by the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper as saying, “In a system where students are consumed by survival-driven competition, we need an admissions process that reduces the burden on test takers and allows them to demonstrate their true abilities.”
Holding multiple Suneung exams has long been considered as away of reforming the education system. The National Education Commission under the presidential office last year was reported in September to be toying with the idea. The committee said it had not formally reviewed the change, and said it was merely a suggestion made by a few of its members.
But the idea has been floated around the political circles for several years, with the conservative People Power Party's education policy debate in 2023 discussing it.
Hong Joon-pyo, the conservative politician who stepped down as Daegu mayor to run in the upcoming June 3 presidential election, made holding two Suneung exams a year one of his presidential pledges on April 6.
College admission exams in some countries, like the SAT in US, does not limit the number of times one can take the crucial test. Most colleges consider only the highest score one has gotten in the tests, and many education experts encourage taking multiple tests.
SNU suggest more autonomy for colleges
As part of the comprehensive reform plan, the SNU Faculty Council also suggested that each school should have more autonomy on their programs and be able to take more students without their majors being assigned at the time of admission. The SNU had previously attempted to pick 400 new students with undeclared majors for the 2025 school year, but the plan was postponed.
The Korean government provides a wide-range of subsidies for colleges, which in turn limits the autonomy of individual schools to certain degrees. SNU, widely considered the most prestigious tertiary education institute in the country, has been among many schools that has called for more freedom in terms of their programs.
Lim Jeong-mook, the chairperson of the SNU Faculty Council, told local media outlets that it was difficult for higher education institutes in the country to gain a competitive edge under current system, which requires government approval for each university's reform plans.
Lim said he would make the suggestion to the political circles as well, so more politicians would make it part of their pledges in the upcoming presidential election.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
