SEOUL:Â South Korea will drop so-called “killer questions” from its notoriously tough college entrance exam in a bid to reduce reliance on private cram schools, the education ministry said Tuesday.
More than half a million students sit the annual nine-hour test, known as “suneung”, which plays a crucial role in deciding a student’s college, career and even marriage prospects.
The inclusion of “killer questions”, which cannot be answered by simply studying the curriculum taught at state schools, was meant to help distinguish top students.
But it has created an arms race of extra educational spending as parents and students flock to expensive private tutoring centres known as “hagwons” to get ahead.
“I will do everything I can in my capacity as the education minister … to exclude questions outside of the public education system to make the test a fair test,” education minister Lee Ju-ho said Monday.
On Tuesday the education ministry told AFP it would press ahead with the reform, saying it “stood by” Lee’s comment.
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Source: CNA
