"Next Year's College Entrance Exam: Adjusting Acceptance Rates Between 'High School Seniors and Repeaters' - Discussion Hosted by Rep. Kang Min-jung"

On the afternoon of the 15th, at the National Assembly, Kang Min-jung, a member of the Open Democratic Party, chaired and led the discussion at the "Emergency Meeting for Fairness and Equity in the 2021 University Admissions Due to COVID-19." (Photo by Kang Min-jung's Office)

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), there have been calls to adjust the admission ratio between current students and repeaters in next year's university freshman selection.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Kang Min-jung, a member of the Open Democratic Party, held an "Emergency Meeting for Fairness and Equity in the 2021 University Admissions Due to COVID-19" at the National Assembly to hear voices from teachers on the ground.

At the discussion, Kim Hyun, a teacher at Sinhyeon High School, said, "After spending three months in anxiety and experiencing intermittent school attendance suspensions, the decision to postpone the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) by only two weeks cannot be seen as a reasonable level of consideration," adding, "All universities should select students for the 2021 admissions based on the average admission ratio of current students and repeaters over the past three years."

He continued, "With group education prohibited, it is uncertain when volunteer and career activity programs will resume," emphasizing, "In this situation, third-year high school students who must prepare for the year-end CSAT while also participating in educational activities recorded in their school life records to maintain good grades are facing a 'triple hardship'."

Park Yoon-geun, a teacher at Yangjeong High School, also stated, "Disadvantages to current students in the Student Record Comprehensive Screening (Hakjong) due to COVID-19 should be minimized," and added, "Universities should be recommended to maintain the three-year ratio of current students to graduates admitted through Hakjong." However, he noted, "The unfairness in regular admissions caused by COVID-19 is not as significant as expected."

On the afternoon of the 15th, at the National Assembly, Kang Min-jung, a member of the Open Democratic Party, chaired and conducted the discussion at the "Emergency Meeting for Fairness and Equity in the 2021 University Admissions Due to COVID-19." (Photo by Kang Min-jung's Office)

There were also calls to pre-organize the Hakjong items to be reflected in next year's university admissions due to the constrained educational environment caused by COVID-19.

Min Hyun-soo, a teacher at Jinmyeong Girls' High School, said, "Non-curricular items excluded from early Hakjong admissions should be announced in advance to avoid confusion during preparation," adding, "It is necessary for the education authorities and universities to discuss excluding or reducing volunteer activities, experiential activities, and career activities from early admissions and apply this uniformly across all university admissions."

Ahn Hye-jung, a teacher at Hwibong High School, also said, "In most schools, there have been almost no non-curricular activities until the May school reopening," and added, "I hope the scope of non-curricular activities reflected in admissions, which is expected to be difficult under the current circumstances, will be reduced quickly."

However, opinions were divided on lowering the minimum CSAT grade requirement in next year's university admissions, as Seoul National University recently decided to lower the minimum grade to level 3.

Teacher Kim Hyun said, "The burden of meeting the minimum CSAT standards in an environment where school educational activities are difficult could unintentionally encourage private education," and added, "If the minimum CSAT standards are abolished in early admissions this year, the dependence on private education among third-year high school students will decrease."

On the other hand, Park Yoon-geun said, "Entering Seoul National University by meeting three minimum CSAT grades of level 3 could cause a sense of relative deprivation," and added, "I believe that some minimum CSAT standards should remain for certain top universities."

Concerns were also expressed about university admissions regressing to being CSAT-centric due to COVID-19. Kwon Hyuk-seon, a teacher affiliated with the Jeonbuk General High School Curriculum Research Institute, said, "Because third-year students have not been able to attend normal school life, there is a push for CSAT-centered admissions policies due to the disadvantage in non-curricular activities," adding, "If various teaching, learning, and performance assessments that can compensate for the weaknesses of online non-face-to-face learning are utilized, it could actually be used as a unique admissions strategy."

Representative Kang, who hosted the discussion, said, "The issue of fairness between current students and repeaters has been discussed several times, but various problems that are difficult to know without being on the ground were raised," adding, "Voices from the field, such as relaxing the minimum CSAT standards or eliminating the reflection rate of extracurricular activities, should be collected." He also said, "The impact of COVID-19 will not end this year but will continue to affect second-year students as well," and added, "Preparations for this should also be made."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.