Low-rated teacher education institutions to reduce student enrollment quota

Feb 23, 2021, 08:41 am

AsiaToday reporters Joo Sung-sik

The teachers training institutions of Pukyong National University, Changwon University, and Hansung University, which received the lowest rate in the government’s latest competency evaluations, will be abolished starting next year. In addition, the student enrollment quota of teacher education institutions of 32 universities, including Kangwon University (Samcheok Campus), Catholic Kwangdong University, and Hanyang University (ERICA Campus) will be abolished by 50 percent, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies by 30 percent.

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI) announced the results of the ‘2020 Competency Diagnosis of Teacher Training Institutions’ on Monday.

Since 1998, the ministry has been conducting along with the KEDI a comprehensive diagnosis of teacher training institutions to support the systematic quality management and autonomous development of teacher training institutions.

The latest diagnosis corresponds to the second to third years of the 5th cycle (2018-2021), and was conducted on 154 four-year-course universities excluding colleges of education and teachers’ colleges. As a result of the evaluation, 111 universities and 126 graduate schools of educations that received lower grades (C, D, and E grade) are expected to reduce the enrollment quota for teaching majors by 3,200 for next year.

Starting next year, the quota for education courses at 11 universities and teacher training courses at 64 universities that received a C grade in the evaluation will be reduced by 30 percent. The quota for teacher training courses at 31 universities that received a D grade will be decreased by 50 percent.

For those that received the lowest E grade will close their teach training institutions starting next year. The education ministry believes that the diagnosis will cut a total of 3,200 teacher trainees, accounting to 12 percent of total number of teacher trainees at universities that went through the diagnosis.

The ministry and the KEDI will provide detailed analysis of the diagnosis to relevant universities so that their teachers training institutions can autonomously improve their education environment and courses.

Regarding the measure for adjusting the student enrollment quota of those teacher education institutions, the teachers’ associations say it is inevitable to some extent for strengthening of teacher training institutions.

#education ministry #student enrollment quota #teacher education institution