After applying 10 billion won to science high school…

Controversy is arising as science high school graduates who have passed various medical schools in the entertainment program have appeared. The voice of the need to improve the science high school and gifted school system, which has become one of the courses for medical school admission, is gaining strength again.

On the 12th, four civic groups, including a world without worrying about private education, and a Democratic Party member Kang Deuk-gu held a press conference and said, “In one entertainment program, a student graduating from Gyeonggi Science High School passed the six medical schools He said, “We need to mandate restrictions on medical science applications to prevent wasting blood tax and depriving other students of educational opportunities.”

On the 6th, tvN’You Quiz on the Block’ appeared in Seoul National University medical school student A. Mr. A, who graduated from Gyeonggi Science High School, announced that he passed Korea University, Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, and Kyunghee University medical school together with Seoul National University.

Gyeonggi Science High School is a science gifted school (gifted school) established under the Gifted Education Promotion Act. Unlike general high schools, 8 gifted schools across the country are operated on a non-grade credit system and are free to organize subjects. There are places that receive support of as much as 10 billion won, and experts with doctoral level or higher can be employed as teachers.

After the broadcast, criticism of viewers for introducing a case contrary to the purpose of establishing a gifted school called’cultivation of science and engineering talent’ continued, and the production crew apologized, saying, “I was very disappointed to the viewers with ignorance.”

The gifted school produces many freshmen every year. According to a report published by the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) last year,’Gifted School Graduates Going to College and Afterwards’, 19.3% (65) of the 337 gifted school graduates surveyed entered the medical field. It is about 1 in 5 graduates.

Criticism about gifted schools that benefit from the budget and the placement of excellent teachers is constantly being raised. Currently, the education cost for gifted schools is about 5 million won per student per year. This is more than three times the total annual education cost of high school students of 1582,000 won. In particular, it is pointed out that 68.5% of freshmen at 8 gifted schools nationwide are from Seoul and Gyeonggi area, so the focus is serious.

As criticism continued to go to medical school, gifted schools also came up with measures. In 2019, the Seoul Science High School announced that if an enrolled student applies to a medical university, the education expenses that have been applied for three years will be refunded. Students who want to go to medical school are advised to transfer to general high school.

Prior to this, Seoul Science High School received a pledge from students not to go to medical school, and collected scholarships when they entered medical school. Even though they did not write recommendations for teachers to apply for college, the medical school enrollment rate did not decrease. Other science high school admissions guidelines contain a phrase stating that’Students wishing to enter a medical science university are not suitable for application to our school’, but there are no practical restrictions.

In the entrance examination industry, there is an analysis that the effectiveness of the measures proposed by gifted schools is poor. This is because the number of universities that reflect recommendation letters in the comprehensive student-affiliated screening (school type) decrease, and it cannot be reflected at all from 2022. In addition, the influence of the recommendation letter is insignificant because the admissions that graduates of gifted schools mainly apply for admission to medical school are science and mathematics specialists.

An official in the admissions industry who asked for anonymity said, “Would parents who took the so-called’gifted school-medical school’ course?” “No.”

Some argue that it should not be restricted to medical school graduates from gifted schools because they can contribute to basic medical research. However, according to a study by Professor Jin-seok Lee of Seoul National University in 2013, only about 2% of the 12,709 students in medical schools and medical schools nationwide chose pathology, preventive medicine, and basic medicine.

Some argue that universities should be restricted to reduce the number of science high school graduates entering medical school. Saguk-se argues, “We need to reduce budgetary support to medical schools where the percentage of freshmen from gifted schools is high.”

Reduction of the selection of special reporters is also considered a countermeasure. Foreign language high schools, which used to be a prestigious college entrance course, fell in popularity as the admissions for English specialty were abolished. In the same way, it is pointed out that the selection screening of medical students should be reduced.

The Ministry of Education announced that it will induce the reduction and abolition of the selection of special reporters at each university, while announcing the’improvement plan for college admission fairness’ in 2019. Lee Man-ki, director of the Education Evaluation Research Institute, said, “If you can’t unconditionally select a graduate of gifted school, there is a problem because there is no legal basis.”

Reporter Nam Gung-min [email protected]