Hangaram High School Also Returns Autonomous Private High School Status... Conversion to General High School Due to High School Credit System and New Student Enrollment Difficulties

Second Case of Returning Autonomous Private High School This Year Following Dongseong High
Hangaram High "15.8% Vacancy Compared to Total Recruitment"
Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education 'Welcomes' "Will Support Stable Transition"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Autonomous private high schools are facing difficulties in recruiting new students ahead of the implementation of the high school credit system and are consecutively converting to general high schools. Following Dongseong High School, Hangaram High School also declared its conversion to a general high school.

Hangaram High School announced on the 16th that after discussions among school members, gathering opinions, and board approval, it has decided to change its school type to a general high school starting from the 2022 academic year.

Hangaram High School stated, "Due to the sharp decline in the school-age population, the policy to abolish autonomous private high schools continuously pursued since 2013, new college admission policies based on simplifying student records, abolishing high school profiles, and blind screening, as well as the full implementation of free high school education, autonomous private high schools are facing great difficulties in student recruitment, reaching a situation where the very existence of the school is threatened."

Hangaram High School explained, "Although it has consistently shown high competition rates in the general admission track, as of July 2021, the cumulative number of vacancies mainly in the social integration admission track already accounts for 15.8% of the total recruitment quota. The scheduled abolition of autonomous private high schools in 2025 makes it difficult to even hope for improvement in the future situation, and with the full implementation of the high school credit system, we judged that the conditions will be met to implement the curriculum and educational activities pursued by Hangaram High School without necessarily maintaining the autonomous private high school framework."

Located in Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Hangaram High School has operated a subject classroom system and subject selection system since its opening in 1997. After converting to an autonomous private high school in 2010, it received excellent evaluations in the autonomous private high school operation performance assessments in 2014 and 2019, but due to changes in college admission policies and difficulties in recruitment, it decided to convert to a general high school. Following Dongseong High School in June, this is the second autonomous private high school to convert to a general high school this year. In Seoul, a total of eight schools including Dongyang High School, Yongmun High School, Mirim Girls' High School, Wooshin High School, Daeseong High School, Kyungmoon High School, Dongseong High School, and Hangaram High School have relinquished their autonomous private high school status.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education also expressed its welcome regarding this. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "To ensure the stable conversion of Hangaram High School to a general high school, we will form and operate a 'General High School Conversion Council' involving the school, foundation, parents, and the education office, and actively support the thorough operation of the transitional complex curriculum." The transitional complex curriculum refers to a curriculum harmoniously operated to reduce side effects when running both general and autonomous private high school curricula simultaneously.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "With the conversion of Hangaram High School, which operated the most distinctive curriculum, to a general high school, I hope other autonomous private high schools will also voluntarily convert to general high schools before 2025 and join in the new change of student-tailored education where no one is left out in an open and coexisting high school system."

Earlier, in June, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced a policy to provide 'General High School Conversion Support Funds' to autonomous private high schools converting to general high schools to allow them to reduce tuition fees for current students. This policy aims to prevent confusion in school operations caused by refusal to pay tuition or transfers immediately after conversion by supporting tuition fees reaching up to 4 million KRW per semester. The support funds can be allocated for staff salaries, school operation expenses, and facility and equipment costs. From the first year of conversion, 1 to 2 classes can be piloted as a 'Subject-Focused Pilot Course,' and students wishing to participate will be assigned by lottery before the second semester high school assignment.

While cases of autonomous private high schools converting to general high schools are emerging, separately, the lawsuit filed by eight autonomous private high schools against the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is ongoing. Following Busan Haeundae High School in December last year, ten schools including eight in Seoul and Ansan Dongsan High School won their first-instance lawsuits against the education office this year.

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