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November 30, 2009
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| Foreign language, science, international and autonomous private high schools in Seoul are set to begin accepting applications tomorrow for next March admission. Applicants can file applications for only one school after the Education Ministry banned multiple applications for special high schools that pick students earlier than ordinary high schools. Foreign language and international high schools, numbering six and one each, recruit students through transcripts, English listening tests developed by respective schools and oral examinations. Screening at science high schools - Sejong and Hansung - is based on applicants’ high school transcripts, other documentary certificates and oral exams. Autonomous private high schools, to be launched for the first time, will select students through lottery, but only those in the top 50 percent of their respective middle schools can apply. Given the ongoing debate in the nation’s political and government communities over abolishing foreign language high schools, seniors at middle schools will be more cautious in applying for those special-purpose schools, experts predict. Lim Seong-ho, an executive with Hanul Education, a private enterprise specializing in sending students to special purpose high schools, said, “Competition ratio at high schools in Gyeonggi Province, which recruited students earlier than those in Seoul, almost decreased by half this year compared with last. The same is expected with those in Seoul.” The application results are slated for release on Dec. 11 and those who fail to get accepted can apply for ordinary high schools starting Dec. 15. Middle school seniors in Seoul will be allowed to choose up to four schools across the city to apply to this year. The Seoul Metropolitan Education Office said the selection process will be based on lottery but will also consider the distance between the students’ residence and school and their means of transportation. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] JoongAng daily Hot issue
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