"Students Are Not Experimental Subjects"…Education Stakeholders Bring Their Voices to Parliament

"Students are not experimental subjects."

Education policy stakeholders including students, parents, and teachers gathered at the National Assembly to directly raise issues from the educational field such as the high school credit system, internal assessment 5-grade system, and excessive administrative duties on teachers.

The Korea Education Stakeholders Alliance (SPEAK, Executive Director Moon Geun-mi) and Korea Education Forum (Executive Director Shim Hong-soon) held an "Education Policy Forum on Korea's Educational Future" at 2 p.m. on the 1st at the 2nd Seminar Room of the National Assembly Members' Hall, announced on the 2nd. The forum was hosted by National Assembly member Kang Myung-gu (People Power Party, Gumi-si B, Gyeongbuk Province; Secretary of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee).

The forum proceeded with the theme of "Broken Trust, Wavering Education Policy" and the subtitle "A Path to Recovery Created Together by Students, Parents, and Teachers."

Unlike typical forums centered on expert presentations and discussions, the four-hour event allocated only 50 minutes to problem-raising and presentations, dedicating 2 hours and 15 minutes to field statements, responses from institutional officials, and open microphone sessions.

The aim was to listen as much as possible to the voices of students, parents, and teachers who are direct stakeholders in education policy.

At the venue, comments pointed to the gap between currently implemented education policies and school reality.

A high school senior student who could not attend in person due to class schedules pointed out through video remarks that the high school credit system is becoming standardized around "model answer" formats for entrance exams.

The student demanded the release of statistics on grade changes and dropouts following the introduction of the 5-grade internal assessment system and also questioned the education authorities on how fairness in evaluation would be ensured in the process of introducing descriptive-type College Scholastic Ability Tests in the AI era.

The student then stated, "Students are not experimental subjects," and demanded, "Make student participation mandatory in the process of formulating education policies."

Teachers also raised concerns.

One current teacher appealed through written remarks that non-educational duties are concentrated on teachers, from field trip safety inspections to civil complaints and school violence handling, to equipment contracts and repairs.

In particular, after the implementation of the high school credit system, situations are occurring where a single teacher must simultaneously prepare classes and assessments for multiple subjects. The teacher argued that the participation of field teachers should be institutionally guaranteed in the policy-making process.

Statements from parents and education figures followed. Cho Jung-won, director of Y City Daycare Center, conveyed the voices of early childhood education and childcare fields on the subject of integration of childcare and early education. Subsequently, an open microphone session in which participants freely expressed their views on education policy and responses from institutional officials took place.

Moon Geun-mi, Executive Director of Korea Education Stakeholders Alliance, said, "Parents are anxious, teachers are struggling, and students continue to be confused amid constantly changing systems and policies. We gathered not to take sides with any one group, but to stand with the protagonists of education—our children."

Shim Hong-soon, Executive Director of Korea Education Forum, also said, "Education policy is not completed at a desk. It must be completed through the voices of schools, classrooms, students, parents, and teachers."

The Korea Education Stakeholders Alliance and Korea Education Forum plan to compile the opinions presented by students, parents, teachers, and others and open microphone remarks into a separate "Field Opinion Report" to be submitted to the office of National Assembly member Kang Myung-gu, who hosted the forum.

Member Kang said, "The Field Opinion Report will be used as material for future inquiries related to education policy and legislative review."

Executive Director Moon said, "When one person speaks, it is just one opinion, but when we speak together, it becomes the beginning of change. We will closely observe how the voices from the field are actually reflected in systems and policies, and will report those results again."