[Opinion] University Policy

I often get confused when I see 386-generation politicians treating universities like they would treat criminals. Surely they must have felt despair and wanted freedom when they experienced Korea’s totalitarian government as youths.

After positioning themselves at the forefront of the administration, they are now calling for an “all-out battle” and “early suppression” in the war against universities as they go about meddling in university operations. Should we be surprised at their duality, or should is this just the way life works?

In the autumn of 2004, several universities admitted they had ranked high schools and given preferential treatment to students from certain areas and specialized high schools as a result. The ruling party is now calling for the enactment of a “three no’s policy” that forbids ranking high schools, donations for admission, and university-administered entrance exams.

Parent organizations, including the “Parents’ Association for True Education,” sued Yonsei University, Korea University, and Ewha Women’s University for interfering in the admissions process. The Public Prosecutors` Office ruled that universities acted within their right to distinguish entrance applicants on Thursday and freed the schools from suspicion. It said that selecting students is up to the universities.

There are no objections to how universities select students in other countries. For them, it is only reasonable for universities to distinguish students. This is not so in Korea. Public sentiment calls for a fair university entrance procedure everyone can agree with. But fairness is not an easy virtue. It is hard to measure and evaluate the qualities of applicants, and there is a big variation in performance among 2,000 high schools in Korea.

How can we solve the “complex equation” that will provide fairness and give universities the opportunity to select applicants they approve of? Government intervention would only lead to the impediment of progress for universities. The solution would be to respect university autonomy and request that the universities be socially responsible, looking out for the impoverished. This administration continues to “harass” universities, even when we all know the answer to the problem. The world would laugh at us for hoping there will be excellent universities and top-notch graduates under such an administration.

Hong Chan-sik, Editorial Writer, chansik@donga.com