High Schools in Agricultural and Fishery Areas to Be Designated as Independent School

High schools located in agricultural and fishery areas, which satisfy certain requirements, can form the educational program independently from next year, and can invite students from the whole country irrespective of region from the year of 2003. Hence, high schools, which have suffered from the difficulty in recruiting new students, will be able to advance to the distinguished school through the specialization of educational program.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources announced yesterday to designate high schools in agricultural and fishery areas as an independent school in order to revive the schools stricken with the shortage of students. The independent schools will have self-regulating rights to establish the independent educational program and can invite new students from the whole country.

A school that wants to converge to an independent school should pass the deliberation process of the city or provincial education office. As long as the school`s capacity is sufficient, there will be no problem for conversion.

For instance, in case that there is only a K high school in A region, K school should invite new students from the region in the first place. But if there are two or three schools in the region, they can invite new students from the entire country by converging to independent schools. With the introduction of new system, there will be no longer a false resident registration by which the third-grade students of middle schools pretend to change their addresses in order to enter a certain high school.

However, the independent schools should receive the control on tuition from the superintendent of the city or provincial education office like general high schools.

The ministry has run 8 schools such as 5 specialized schools, 2 occupational schools, 8 artist and athletic schools from the year of 1999, and 20 schools including 5 integrated schools from March, 2001, as a model of independent school.

Meanwhile, the ministry is also considering a plan to designate the occupational high school or the high schools affiliated with the national universities from the year of 2003.

inchul@donga.com