Yoo Eun-hye: "High School Credit System Will Be an Opportunity for Public Education Innovation"

"Breaking Away from Uniform and Competition-Centered Education"
"Achievement Assessment System to Expand to All Elective Subjects from 2025 Academic Year"

Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Yoo Eun-hye is attending the full meeting of the Education Committee held at the National Assembly on the 16th, providing a work report. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eun-hye stated that the implementation of the 'High School Credit System' will be an opportunity for innovation in public education and a turning point toward future education.

At the 'Comprehensive Promotion Plan Announcement for the High School Credit System' event held on the 17th at Galmae High School in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "Our education will be divided into before and after 2025," adding, "This is because the new education system called the 'High School Credit System' will be applied nationwide to high schools, and autonomous private high schools, foreign language high schools, and international high schools will be fully converted into general high schools, starting operation under this new system."

The High School Credit System refers to a system where students select subjects according to their career paths and aptitudes, earn credits for subjects that meet completion criteria, and graduate accordingly. It has been piloted in Meister high schools since last year and will be implemented in some general high schools starting next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo explained, "The changes in high school education in 2025 will lead to changes in the 2028 university entrance examination, and Korea's education will break away from uniform education symbolized by multiple-choice CSAT questions and competition-centered education."

She added, "Students will build foundational skills in their first year and begin studying elective subjects in earnest from their second year. From the 2025 academic year, graduation will not be based solely on attendance days but on earning credits by meeting completion criteria for each subject, and students can graduate once they reach a certain number of credits."

She continued, "The achievement evaluation system, currently applied only to some elective subjects, will be expanded to all elective subjects starting in the 2025 academic year. Instead of relative ranking, grades will be recorded based on students' achievement levels, allowing students to freely choose advanced subjects with higher difficulty or subjects taken by a small number of students."

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo stated, "We will improve related policies such as teacher training, certification, supply, and placement so that teachers can teach various subjects. In line with the credit system, we will also support diverse classes by preparing school spaces in various forms and sizes, such as online learning rooms, flexible classrooms, and home bases."

She added, "To ensure that students in underprivileged areas such as rural and fishing villages can take desired subjects, if there is a shortage of teachers, experts from local universities or research institutes will be allowed to teach at schools. We will also establish a stable online learning environment and operate joint education programs to overcome regional conditions."

Regarding concerns that the discriminative power of school records in university admissions may decrease, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "While high schools so far have focused solely on university entrance, the future curriculum will provide various experiential opportunities such as employment and entrepreneurship, allowing diverse choices. In university admissions, students can be evaluated in various ways based on how they prepared according to their career paths and aptitudes, such as taking advanced courses in subjects of interest."

In response to criticism that the continuity of the High School Credit System policy may be difficult to guarantee if the government changes, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo emphasized the importance of consistency.

She said, "The High School Credit System was established through consultations with metropolitan and provincial offices of education and field opinions, and regardless of government changes due to elections, the consistency and continuity of education policy must be guaranteed. Once the National Education Committee is launched within this year, it will support the consistent implementation of national education policies," she emphasized.

She added, "Above all, since the government has officially announced the educational transition and the High School Credit System implementation as a key task in a broad direction to the public, I believe it must be consistently guaranteed despite government changes."

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