Starting in March with the new semester, students will be able to earn credit for elective courses in the high school credit system by maintaining good attendance alone. Even if they fail to earn credit on time, they can obtain credit through a separate online learning platform.
The Ministry of Education on the 28th announced support measures to ensure the high school credit system takes hold. It is a follow-up to the National Education Commission's approval on the 15th of agenda items to establish and revise the national curriculum related to the high school credit system.
The high school credit system allows students to choose courses according to their career path and aptitude, and to graduate by earning and accumulating credits for courses that meet completion standards. To graduate, high school students must earn a total of 192 credits over three years, including 48 credits of common courses.
Previously, both common and elective courses required meeting at least 40% attendance and 40% academic achievement to complete a course, but going forward, 11th graders will only need to meet the attendance requirement for elective courses. This reflects criticism that if students fail to meet the grade standard, additional instruction is required, creating a heavy burden for both students and teachers and prompting students to avoid courses with heavy grade pressure.
However, for common courses taken by 10th graders, the completion standard will remain as both attendance and academic achievement, as before.
For creative experiential activities, students can meet the completion credit requirement by attending at least two-thirds of the total number of class days per grade. Previously, they had to attend at least two-thirds of the total number of class hours over the three years of high school.
Students who do not complete a course on time will be able to earn credits on an online platform. After applying through their school or the education office, students can take the courses after school or during vacations, and can earn credit if they attend at least two-thirds of the classes.
The Ministry of Education will also improve conditions for offering elective courses by assigning additional teachers. It will assign 777 additional full-time teachers this year to online schools and joint curriculum hub schools, and support instructor hiring so that rural, fishing, and small schools (442 locations) can offer a variety of courses. The hiring support budget is 15.7 billion won for the first semester.