High School Credit System Course Completion Standards to Be Established by School Regulations

Specification of High School Credit System Support Center Tasks and Scope of Consigned Institutions
Private School Operation Committee Elevated from Advisory to Deliberative Body

Photo of Galmae High School related to the implementation of the High School Credit System / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The operation of the high school credit system, which will be fully implemented in 2025, and the criteria for recognizing the completion of required subjects for graduation will be established in school regulations instead of the curriculum. The school operation committee of private schools will be upgraded from an advisory body to a deliberative body.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Education announced that it reviewed and approved five bills, including partial amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Enforcement Decree of the Private School Act, at the Cabinet meeting.

The Ministry of Education revised the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to stipulate that the criteria for recognizing the completion of subjects under the high school credit system should be set in school regulations rather than the curriculum guidelines.

It also specified the duties of the High School Credit System Support Center established by the Minister of Education or the Superintendent of Education, as well as the consignment institutions.

The High School Credit System Support Center is responsible for basic research for policy development, collection and analysis of related data, research and development of training materials, and support tasks for the operation and improvement of the high school credit system.

Consignment institutions include the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, the Korea Educational Development Institute, or corporations or institutions recognized by the Minister or Superintendent as having expertise.

Additionally, the school operation committee in private schools will be elevated from an advisory body to a deliberative body. It will be able to deliberate on major matters related to school operations such as the number of school days, holidays, and student safety measures.

Multicultural students and foreign students will be allowed to enter, transfer, or re-enroll in high schools according to procedures and standards set by the Superintendent of Education, rather than school regulations.

The Enforcement Decree of the Private School Act was also amended to include exceptions for new teacher recruitment entrusted to the Superintendent of Education. Criteria were established for cases where written exams are not conducted or not entrusted.

For arts and physical education subjects or specialized subjects, written exams can be replaced by other forms of testing. When hiring teachers for subjects that do not receive teacher salary support or are not selected through public appointment exams, it is recognized as an exception for recruitment entrustment to the Superintendent.

The number of members of the Teacher Disciplinary Committee will be expanded according to school size: 5 to 9 members for schools with fewer than 200 students, and 9 to 11 members for schools with 200 or more students. When convening the board of directors, the date and location must be announced on the school's internet homepage, etc.

The scope of private interests subject to declaration in the code of conduct for private educational institutions has been defined to include cases where the private educational institution staff themselves are related to the duties, or relatives within the fourth degree of kinship are related to the duties.

The Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act, which includes provisions related to the mandatory establishment of 'Human Rights Centers' in universities starting from the 24th, was also amended.

To deliberate on major matters regarding the operation of the Human Rights Center, a Human Rights Center Operating Committee composed of faculty, students, and experts will be established, and the Human Rights Center must have investigation and counseling spaces equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) and emergency bells.

In accordance with the amendment to the 'Act on Prevention and Compensation of School Safety Accidents,' which provides for nursing fees and incidental expenses during recuperation from school safety accidents, standards for nursing fee payments, claim procedures, and conditions and support amounts for incidental expenses when parents provide nursing care have also been stipulated.

The regulations of the Gender Equality Education Deliberation Committee were amended to change its name to the 'Gender Equality Education Deliberation Committee,' and the terminology within the provisions was changed from 'gender equality' to 'gender equality' (using the term 'yangseongpyeongdeung' to emphasize equality between genders).

Deliberation items now include ▲ matters related to gender equality education plans that respect the dignity and personality of individual students ▲ matters related to the creation of educational and convenience facilities and educational environments considering gender characteristics.

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