Teachers federation warns against 'predetermined' college entrance exam overhaul

The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations said the government's push to overhaul the college entrance system, establish national principles for civic education in schools, and revise the middle and high school history curriculum all require "careful, deliberate approaches grounded in thorough review and broad social consensus."

The federation, known by its Korean acronym Gyochong, issued a statement Friday saying that while the National Education Commission has denied any predetermined outcome, the group believes the commission is already moving toward introducing short-answer and essay questions on the College Scholastic Ability Test and converting to an absolute grading system.

The National Education Commission on Thursday deliberated and approved plans to gather public opinion on college admissions reform, national principles for civic education in schools, and a proposal to revise the history curriculum for middle and high schools.

The federation said it was particularly concerned that even within the commission, questions had been raised about the way decisions were being reported after the fact. "If the direction — such as introducing short-answer and essay questions and switching to absolute grading — is decided in advance and discussions are steered toward supporters, it will be difficult to win the consent of students, parents and teachers," the group said. "Deliberations must not become a process where the answer is already fixed."

The federation also criticized the national principles for civic education in schools, saying they lack adequate protections for teachers. Because the principles apply not only to classroom instruction but also to extracurricular activities, student guidance and counseling, teachers could be exposed to complaints and disputes when addressing politically or socially contentious issues, it said.

"There are no specific standards for what counts as a controversial issue, how clearly it must be taught, or what perspectives must be presented in a balanced way," the federation said. "Standards for political neutrality, guidelines for running classes, and mechanisms to protect teachers when complaints or disputes arise must all be put in place."

The federation also expressed concern about the proposed changes to the middle and high school history curriculum. Increasing the share of modern and contemporary history in middle school could weaken the continuity of history education between the two levels, it said, leading to more repetition of modern history while reducing coverage of pre-modern history.

The group said the more pressing priority is to normalize the way the second semester of ninth grade is currently managed — a structural problem it identified as the root cause of insufficient modern history instruction. It also warned that adjusting the weight of specific subject areas before the 2022 revised curriculum has even been fully rolled out across all grade levels could undermine the stability and predictability of the national curriculum.

The federation urged caution on the creation of new elective courses at the high school level as well. "We agree on the need to teach media literacy and critical information skills," it said, "but with the high school credit system already placing teachers under strain from multi-subject instruction, course offerings and staffing shortages, adding new subjects risks increasing the burden on schools."

Federation Chairman Kang Ju-ho said the National Education Commission was established to develop long-term national education policies and a stable national curriculum that would not be swayed by changes in government or political circumstances. "When it comes to reforming the college admissions system and other matters, the commission must pace itself and reflect a balanced range of views," he said.