The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said there is a risk of discrimination in some Meister high schools limiting admission of female students without a reasonable basis and expressed the view to the Minister of the Ministry of Education that measures are needed.
Meister high schools are special-purpose high schools that run customized curricula directly linked to the needs of industry.
Earlier, a petitioner filed a complaint seeking improvement, saying some Meister high schools select only male students as freshmen or set a low selection ratio for female students, which amounts to discrimination that restricts educational opportunities based on gender without a reasonable basis.
According to an investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), of 54 Meister high schools nationwide, 40 selected freshmen without gender distinction, while the remaining 14 differentiated their recruitment quotas by gender. In particular, nine schools in industrial fields such as machinery, automobiles, electricity, and electronics did not select any female students.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Committee on the Rights of the Child said, "There are already many schools in industrial-field Meister high schools that recruit female students," and determined, "It is not reasonable for some Meister high schools to restrict admission of female students on the grounds that educating female students is not easy."
It also said, "If a Meister high school in the region does not recruit female students, they must apply to schools in other regions and bear the burden of long-distance schooling, and in particular, the nation's only energy-field Meister high school also selects only male students, depriving female students of educational opportunities in that field."
The Ministry of Education was also aware that only some Meister high schools select only male students. The Ministry of Education told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), "We provided guidance on related matters through the regular Meister high school consultative body, and we will work to ensure balanced student selection through consultative bodies of metropolitan and provincial education offices."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also expressed the view that, in addition to management and supervision, the Ministry of Education must prepare budget support measures that educational institutions cannot easily resolve on their own.