By You Soo-sun



The Gyeonggi Province education chief announced Tuesday a plan to abolish foreign language and autonomous high schools, stirring controversy over education reform nationwide. Seoul, where 38 percent of such schools are located, is also expected to overhaul its education system. There are 46 autonomous high schools, 31 foreign language schools and seven international schools nationwide that may lose their status and be turned into public schools, one of President Moon Jae-in's key election campaign pledges.



The only official statement so far has come from Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent Lee Jae-jeong who vowed to incrementally abolish 10 foreign language and private schools in the province by 2020. But it was Seoul that met a fierce backlash due to speculation that it will abolish 29 such schools.



The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education refuted these claims Thursday, noting that although abolishing autonomous private schools is a Moon administration pledge, this remains uncertain as the new education minister has yet to be inaugurated. The office's education reform plan is still under review and will be announced June 28.



The argument for abolishing the schools is that they lead to excessive early competition and that they have become an increasingly determinant factor for college admission. At Seoul National University, for example, the percentage of first-year students from private schools increased from 18.3% to 44.6% from 2006 to 2016, while that of students from public schools fell from 77.7% to 46.1% over the same period according to data obtained by Rep. Yoo Eun-hye of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) last year.



On the other hand, some criticize abolishing private high schools may bring about an overall degrading of the education system. Parents of students currently preparing to enter the autonomous or foreign language high schools are also opposed to the move.



Still, expectations are high that the education system will be completely overhauled under the Moon administration. President Moon as well as a majority of education superintendents has expressed the need to strengthen regular high schools and do away with other types of schools. The newly tapped education minister, Kim Sang-kon, a former school superintendent of Gyeonggi Province, is known as an icon for education reform, and a majority of the incumbent education chiefs are likely to support him. However, another major deciding factor will be the election results for education superintendents slated for June 2018.







