Anonymization and deduction criteria extended to in-person interviews

Eligibility for non-certified teachers broadened; superintendents gain flexibility on screening method

A scene from a principal recruitment interview. [Generated with AI]
A scene from a principal recruitment interview. [Generated with AI]

Starting next year, candidates who reveal membership in specific organizations or tout personal ties to influential figures during in-depth principal recruitment interviews will face point deductions. The government is also easing the criteria for designating schools that allow teachers without principal certification to apply, and will let district superintendents choose how screening is conducted.

The Ministry of Education announced Tuesday that it had distributed the "2027 Academic Year Principal Recruitment System Operational Guidelines" to education offices nationwide. The principal recruitment system is a program under which schools publicly solicit candidates for principal positions based on the needs of the school community and local characteristics.

The core of the revision is to strengthen fairness in the principal recruitment screening process. Under existing rules, point deductions applied only when applicants disclosed personal information — such as their name — or revealed affiliations with specific organizations or individuals in written materials such as self-introductions or school management plans. The standard did not apply to in-person evaluations such as in-depth interviews.

From the 2027 academic year onward, candidates who disclose personal information or reveal organizational affiliations or personal connections to specific individuals during interviews may also face deductions, subject to review by the recruitment principal screening committee. The Ministry of Education said the change is intended to eliminate factors that could undermine fairness not only in document screening but also in face-to-face evaluations.

The criteria for designating "Type B internal" recruitment schools — which give teachers without principal certification a path to the position — will also change. The Type B internal track allows teachers at autonomous schools and autonomous public high schools with at least 15 years of teaching experience to apply alongside those who hold principal certification.

Under current rules, superintendents may designate Type B internal schools for up to 50 percent of schools that apply for internal-track recruitment. Some education offices had been applying the 50 percent cap separately to elementary and secondary schools. This meant that even when the overall share of applicant schools remained below 50 percent, a school could be barred from Type B designation if its school level exceeded the cap.

Starting next year, a school may be designated as a Type B internal school even if the share within a particular school level exceeds 50 percent, as long as total Type B designations across all elementary and secondary internal-track applicants do not exceed 50 percent. The change is intended to fix cases where schools were unable to pursue their preferred recruitment type because of differences in how per-level ratios were calculated.

Superintendents will also gain greater discretion over how principal recruitment screening is conducted. Under the current system, candidates must pass evaluations by both a school-level screening committee and a district education office screening committee. This year, candidates were required to score at least 85 percent of the maximum points in each of the two evaluations to be eligible for selection.

Going forward, superintendents may choose between two methods: a "sequential" model, in which candidates must score at least 85 percent in each evaluation separately, and a "combined" model, in which scores from the two evaluations are weighted equally at 50 percent each and candidates who reach a combined score of at least 85 percent advance. A ministry official said that under this year's sequential model, some schools recommended only one candidate out of many applicants for the district-level evaluation.

Each provincial and metropolitan education office is to finalize its principal recruitment operational plan by Oct. 23 and proceed with the recruitment process with the goal of appointing principals by March 1 next year. Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin said the guidelines "strengthen the fairness of principal recruitment screening while at the same time reflecting the opinions of schools on the ground and expanding the autonomy of provincial and metropolitan education offices," adding that the ministry would work to ensure the principal recruitment system "operates fairly and substantively, grounded in the participation of school communities."


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