South Korea is to stop asking “killer questions” on notoriously competitive college entrance exams in an effort to make them more fair.
The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation — the agency that creates and administers the annual test — would cut the infamous questions that are tough to answer and often not covered at public schools, the South Korean Ministry of Education said on Monday.
Each year, about 350,000 South Korean high-school students take these tests. So-called “killer questions” often favor those whose families can afford expensive and time-consuming private cram schools.
“Including questions that are not covered in the public-school curriculum for the college entrance exam is no different than pushing students into private education,” South Korean Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, who is also a deputy prime minister, said in a meeting with ruling party officials.
Under the current system, only private cram schools are making profit, while students, parents and public-school teachers are suffering, Lee said.
The new guidance, which comes into effect this year, adds to broader debate globally about inequality in the education system. The issue is particularly acute in South Korea, where attending a prestigious university is an avenue for landing a career at one of the country’s handful of conglomerate employers.
South Korean high-school students often take at least three intensive courses outside of regular full-day classes, including math, Korean and English. As so-called “killer questions” emerged in entrance exams over the past few years, students soon flocked to cram schools that provide sample questions and mock tests to prepare them.
These private schools have faced increased criticism from lawmakers and teachers groups for their high cost. Some cram schools have already voiced criticism of the government’s new policy, saying the announcement would cause confusion for students taking the exam later this year.
Parents often face little choice, but to use their services so their kids can get an edge in the exams. Total household expenditures on private education for primary, junior-high and high-school students rose 11 percent to 26 trillion won (US$20.2 billion) last year, according to data from Statistics Korea.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS