EDUCATION SYSTEM OF SOUTH KOREA

Education Finance

School for all children between the ages of six and fifteen is free. Senior high schools, for students aged fifteen to eighteen, do charge tuition fees in order to supplement government funding, but these fees do not appear burdensome enough to prevent students from attending.  School funding is very centralized, with local school systems deriving 80% of their revenue from the central Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) budget. The central ministry directly funds teachers’ salaries in elementary and lower secondary school as well as preschool programs.

School Management and Organization

The structure of education governance is very similar to other Korean government operations, with major initiatives produced and funded by a central office and carried out by lower, regional offshoots of the central office. 180 Regional Offices of Education report to sixteen Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education, who in turn report to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST). All metropolitan, municipal/regional and provincial offices of education must take general policy direction from MEST, but can make budgetary and hiring decisions for their respective regions. In recent years, there have been attempts to decentralize the system somewhat and allow more decision-making at the school level. Each school has its own school council with some degree of autonomy in terms of promoting teachers or arranging professional development, but this is still fairly limited.
The Ministry of Education leaves the majority of the budget planning process and administrative decisions to the municipal and provincial education offices. Local school boards are elected positions, although they are apolitical and more than 50% of board members are required by law to have at least ten years of experience in education.

Accountability and Incentive Systems

Schools are evaluated annually by external monitoring groups established by the provincial education offices. They complete school inspections based on a Ministry of Education evaluation plan, which sets directions and standards.  School evaluations review teaching and learning practices, curriculum and student needs.The Ministry of Education has recently added school-based performance awards in which top-performing schools receive bonuses. School reviews are not used punitively; rather, struggling schools are given administrative advice about how to improve. The results of school evaluations are reported publicly.

Teachers are evaluated by their principals although the principal does not have the power to directly reward or punish teachers based on their evaluations. There are, however, incentives for high performance. One major incentive is the designation of “Master Teacher,” which entitles effective, seasoned teachers to a small monthly stipend in addition to their normal salary. Additional incentives include bonuses and study abroad opportunities.