"To Transform Education, Issues of Recruitment Reform, Hierarchy, Education Gap, and Private Education Costs Must Be Addressed First"

Education Spring and Other Groups Announce 25 Tasks Across Six Sectors
"Urgent Need to Eliminate Outdated Education in the AI Era"
Competency-Based Hiring, Reducing Educational Gaps, Lowering Private Education Costs

Civic education organizations in South Korea have stepped forward to drive educational transformation. Their intention is to have key stakeholders lead change, rather than relying solely on government initiatives. This effort also stems from a sense of urgency that the current education system, trapped in hierarchy and competition, is ill-equipped to prepare for the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

On April 22, three education organizations—Education Spring, No Worries About Private Education, and Good Teacher Movement—held a press conference to announce their “Six Major Sectors and 25 Tasks” for a major transformation of South Korean education.

The organizations pointed out, “With technological advancements enabling AI to replace human functions, threatening jobs and rapidly transforming recruitment practices, the education sector faces a major turning point. However, our education system remains stuck in outdated practices.” They added, “Entrance exam competition remains unchanged, and the practical standards for the competencies we aim to foster have not changed in 40 years. We must devise measures that address the core issues.”

After six months of discussions, the organizations established 25 policy tasks across six areas: responding to changes in industry and recruitment by introducing a competency-based hiring system without academic background; reforming the hierarchical university structure and establishing a new college admissions system; transforming schools into future-oriented institutions that foster genuine learning; narrowing educational gaps and easing competitive education; reducing private education expenses; and restoring trust in the collapsed educational community. Unlike previous methods, these proposals are to be implemented and led directly by education stakeholders, not just in a passive, government-dependent way.

One key proposal is the “Act to Prevent Hiring Discrimination Based on School of Origin.” The organizations called for the implementation of a social agreement that fosters competencies needed in the workplace and aligns with educational values for the AI era of industry and recruitment transformation. They also proposed that employers be prohibited from collecting information about a candidate’s school or academic background during the hiring process. To address the issue of job seekers being preoccupied with “building specs,” the groups suggested a government, corporate, and university joint campaign called the “Spec Diet Campaign.” According to Education Spring, job seekers are currently building an average of 12.5 “specs.”

The government’s “Building 10 Seoul National Universities” policy was recommended for improvement as “Building 10 Seoul National Universities Plus.” Recently, the Ministry of Education announced the “Growth Engine Regional Talent Development Plan” as the finalized version of this policy, designating three leading national universities for focused investment. These groups suggested that the scope of the “10 Seoul National Universities” initiative be expanded from key national universities to all public universities, and that students with a certain academic standard be admitted through joint selection. In May, they also plan to establish a “University Designed by the People” to advance related policies.

For college admissions, the organizations proposed the “University Admissions Guarantee System,” allowing students who meet certain criteria to be admitted, instead of the current system where a difference of just one point determines acceptance.

In classrooms, they argued that public education should be restored by having teachers identify and spread innovative teaching models. The high school credit system should be competency-based, and both internal assessments and the national college entrance exam should be conducted using an absolute grading system. They also called for some traditional vocational high schools to be converted into “alternative vocational high schools” to promote career education.

To address chronic problems like the “education gap” and private education expenses, the organizations recommended developing and systematically managing the “South Korean Student Happiness Index” and the “Education Inequality Index,” as well as implementing measures to curb preemptive learning. They suggested improving preemptive education practices through a private academy curriculum disclosure system, and protecting student rest time by considering ordinances such as a Sunday closing rule for private academies.

This proposal will be promoted in cooperation with newly elected superintendents across the country following the local elections in June.

The organizations stated, “In addition to the roles of education offices and the Ministry of Education, key stakeholders have an important part to play. Through active participation, we aim to enhance the sense of efficacy and civic capacity among stakeholders, thereby laying the groundwork for institutionalization. We will seek wise solutions so that these efforts can be reflected in policy and institutional improvements.”

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