Only those who have lived abroad for more than three years will be allowed to enter a domestic international school next year, regardless of their citizenship or status. The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology announced the new law regarding the establishment and operation of international schools on Monday.
The regulation says Korean nationals must have resided for more than three years in a foreign country to acquire admission to an international school. Furthermore, only 30 percent of the entrance quota will be allocated to Koreans.
In what I consider one of several disgusting trends in education here, Korean parents have been purchasing residency in another country to allow their children to attend international schools in South Korea. The Chosun Ilbo took a look at Ecuador in May:
The easiest way to get your child into a foreign-language school in Korea is to obtain permanent residency in Ecuador. Five days in Ecuador is enough, since all the paperwork can be done in a day. This is what five parents were told by a study-abroad agency in Gangman, Seoul, last week. One mother who gave her name as Han (41) decided it was worth it so her six-year-old daughter can beat the prohibition on Korean children studying in international schools.
“By investing only five days, you can save a lot of money and send your child to an international school here. Your child can learn English without having to go abroad for years, and you don’t have to spend enormous amounts of money overseas,” Han said. Since it costs at least W40-60 million (US$1=W1,049) a year to study in Canada, Europe, or the U.S., international schools in Korea are a tempting option for Korean parents.
. . .
As the merit of going to international schools in Korea is being spotlighted, Ecuador is gaining popularity as the easiest country to get permanent residency. There are plenty of adverts for such offers as Ecuadorian permanent residency for only US$9,000. To promote the economy, the Ecuadorian government amended laws at the end of 2005 to encourage investor immigration. An official at the Korean Embassy in Ecuador said Korean parents with children who came to get permanent residency can frequently be spotted in the lobby of hotels in downtown Quito, the capital.
That article says the number of Koreans studying in South Korean international schools is over 25%, while the article at the top of the page said the quota will be set at 30%. You can read a little more about this trend on The Marmot's Hole.
Having a large percentage of Korean students in an international school not only keeps foreigners' children out but could turn the school into a glorified ESL academy, where the curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of language learners rather than the demands of the subject. That isn't to paint all Korean students with the same brush, because there are special cases, and a three-year residency requirement will get rid of a lot of the slimy ones, but I cringe when I learn of parents buying residency from another country so their kids can attend schools set up for foreigners. That's not only an indictment of English-hungry parents, but also of the rigorous life of a Korean student and the dismal reputation of Korean public schools that parents would take such measures to avoid both foreign-language high schools and mainstream public schools. Your thoughts?
2 comments:
Gee, I wish we had that exchange rate they listed in the article.
actually...I sympathize with those parents. Would you raelly want to put your child through the regular school system here? After all you've seen with the tests, the pressure, the punishment, the stress, the sleep deprivation, the hakwons, the conformacy, the complacancy...from elementary school, to middle school, through high school, and still in University - SKY high even worse, the military, and finally getting another boring desk-job at another big-name (Korean) company.
And if you could find a loop-hole, cheeper than sending them off to a foreign country, or completely relocating yoruselves, to try and break this cycle, wouldn't you?
I think as long as the International school doesn't dumb down it's curriculum, the students who bought their way in, instead of earning it, may do okay. It's kinda like when mum throws you into a French Immersion school in Canada. La professeur rentre, et tu est simplement expectee de comprendre. And after a while...you just do. Just like after enough time in our English rooms, they also just plain undersatnd us.
And getting them in there young, is the best age to do it. Go mrs. Han. She's doing what she feels is best for her kid.
Also, the gov't's tightening of Korean-entrance to the international schools perpetuates this, as someone who actually may HAVE studied abroad and has a good grasp of the English language will not match up to a (however falsely bought) foreign national citizenship.
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