Ministry of Education Selects 25 Schools for "2025 Autonomous Public High School 2.0" Program

25 More Schools Join the Autonomous Public High School 2.0 Program
Distinctive Curricula and Local Collaboration to Drive Educational Innovation

This year, 25 schools have been newly designated as "Autonomous Public High Schools."

On August 27, the Ministry of Education announced that, out of 39 schools that applied for the "2025 Autonomous Public High School 2.0 Contest," a total of 25 schools have been selected as finalists.

The Autonomous Public High School 2.0 program is designed to improve educational conditions in rural, fishing, and original downtown areas by allowing each city and province to operate its own autonomous educational model, thereby driving educational innovation. Special provisions apply, such as non-graded classes, shortened school years, autonomous determination of semesters, and exceptions for the use of textbooks. Schools can also collaborate with local experts and university faculty. The program grants curriculum autonomy equivalent to that of special-purpose and autonomous private high schools, and allows each school to establish and operate new subjects in connection with partner institutions.

Last year, the Ministry of Education selected 100 schools for the Autonomous Public High School 2.0 program through three rounds of contests. These schools utilize the human and material resources of partner institutions to implement educational innovations tailored to local needs, and operate distinctive curricula and programs.

The 25 schools newly selected this year will be designated by their respective education offices and begin operating as Autonomous Public High Schools starting in March next year.

Among the newly selected schools, Ganghwa Girls' High School (Incheon) plans to develop a specialized curriculum focused on history, marine studies, peace, and ecology by utilizing the region's rich historical and cultural resources, as well as its marine and tidal flat ecological education resources. The school will also collaborate with local universities, museums, and other human and material resources in the area.

Baekseok High School (Gyeonggi) not only plans to cooperate with local universities but also aims to establish a collaborative system among nearby elementary, middle, and high schools. The school will jointly operate subject classes and experiential activities themed around artificial intelligence, as well as teacher capacity-building programs, across these schools.

Kim Chunhong, Director of Educational Policy, stated, "We expect that the schools selected for the Autonomous Public High School 2.0 program will operate distinctive educational models in connection with their local communities and spread best practices to nearby general high schools, thereby contributing to the enhancement of regional educational competitiveness."

He added, "We will continue to provide necessary support, such as expert consulting, in cooperation with the education offices to ensure the robust operation of the Autonomous Public High School 2.0 program."

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