Education Minister nominee stresses education autonomy

Education Minister nominee Lee Ju-ho is more likely to concentrate on making certain the autonomy of colleges if he takes workplace, whereas pushing for the launch of a highschool credit score system and extra.

Lee, who was the pinnacle of the now-defunct Ministry of Education, Science and Technology from 2010 to 2013 in the course of the Lee Myung-bak administration, has been named the nominee for Education Minister by President Yoon Suk-yeol. If confirmed, he will probably be returning to his publish after some 10 years.

“When I used to be the minister, I pressured on autonomy and duty,” Lee stated on his strategy to the workplace on Friday. “Ensuring autonomy and liberty is the best way to stimulate the proper development of education.”

During his days within the workplace, Lee pushed for the diversification of secondary education, launching new sorts of excessive faculties such because the autonomous non-public excessive faculties and Meister vocational faculties

Though the Moon Jae-in administration had deliberate to finish “elite education,” abolishing autonomous non-public excessive faculties, overseas language excessive faculties and worldwide faculties, beneath the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the colleges are anticipated to remain because it promotes “a reform of the high school system to provide diverse types of education.”

With Lee more likely to take the education workplace, the so-called elite faculties might stay.

Lee can be a supporter of the highschool credit score system. He known as for the system to increase out to center faculties.

“We must work on a versatile education mannequin that gives education focused at college students’ particular person wants, previous the aggressive school entrance system,” Lee wrote in a ebook titled “AI Education Revolution” printed final yr, which he wrote with two different professors.

The highschool credit score system permits college students to decide on their very own lessons relying on their desired careers. The coverage was drawn up in the course of the Park Geun-hye administration and was pushed ahead in the course of the Moon Jae-in administration.

The present authorities has additionally included the launch of the system in 2025 as its stage agenda. It is at present trying over the system.

Lee argued the credit score system ought to be expanded to center faculties, too, after being carried out in excessive faculties.

In the ebook, Lee additionally criticized the Korean education system for being “inflexible.”

“While the current high school system is a model of typical standardized education, the curriculum sets flexible ‘career exploration’ as its goal — which does not add up,” he wrote.

If Lee takes workplace, he would fill the place left empty for some 50 days after former minister Park Soon-ae provided her resignation 35 days after taking workplace following plenty of controversies.

The affirmation listening to for Lee is more likely to be set after the inspection on the state administration interval.

The Confirmation Hearing Act mandates the National Assembly end up the listening to course of inside 20 days after the president makes his request.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)