Shortage of classes at Jamsil High School forces students to commute to distant schools
Forum examines disadvantages for smaller schools under 5-grade GPA system and high school credit system
Yoon says she will push for education office's positive response to translate into actual expansion
Yoon Yu-jin, a People Power Party lawmaker on the Seoul Metropolitan Council's education committee representing Songpa District 1, has opened a public debate on expanding the number of classes at Jamsil High School. Attention is now focused on future discussions after the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it would give the proposal a favorable review.
Yoon hosted a parent forum on expanding classes at Jamsil High School on Friday at the Seoul Metropolitan Council's first conference room, with about 50 parents in attendance.
The forum was organized to examine the need for additional classes in response to growing demand for high school enrollment in the Jamsil area, and to discuss the educational disadvantages that students at smaller schools may face under the five-grade internal assessment system and the high school credit system.
Hong Hu-jo, a professor of education at Korea University, delivered the keynote address. Im Seong-ho, head of Jongno Hagwon, Lee Seung-ho, director of the school and system research division at the Korean Educational Development Institute, Park Ra-jin, chair of the Jamsil High School parents' association, and Kim O-yeong, head of the school support division at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, took part in the discussion.
Professor Hong said expanding classes in line with student enrollment demand was essential. He also said the current education system — including the five-grade internal assessment system and the high school credit system — had structural problems, and called for an evaluation framework that students and parents could accept.
Im said smaller schools face a structural disadvantage in which fewer students enroll in each elective course, making it harder for any individual student to secure a top internal assessment grade. Lee added that in courses with small enrollment, a difference of just one or two students can shift the number of pupils in each grade band, and said shrinking school size could lead to a reduction in teaching staff and difficulties in running the curriculum.
Parents described an imbalance between local demand for high school enrollment and the actual number of available classes.
Park Ra-jin, chair of the Jamsil High School parents' association, said the school is "the only high school in an area surrounded by large apartment complexes with more than 16,000 households," adding that "even though the school is nearby, students have to commute to distant schools because there are not enough classes."
Park also said the number of applicants to Jamsil High School for the 2026 academic year had risen roughly fivefold from the previous year, and said the school should restore the classes that were cut in the past to reflect the growth in the school-age population following the completion of reconstruction in the area.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education acknowledged the high level of demand for Jamsil High School. Kim O-yeong, head of the school support division, said the school's admission competition rate ranked in the top 12 percent among Seoul's 217 general high schools. However, Kim cited the overall decline in the school-age population across Seoul and difficulties in securing teaching staff as practical constraints on expanding classes.
After parents continued to raise questions, Kim said the office would "review the expansion of classes at Jamsil High School very favorably."
Also attending the forum were Kim Gil-yeong, floor leader of the People Power Party caucus at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Lee Hui-won, vice chair of the council's education committee, and Kim Deok-hui, director of the administrative bureau at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.
Yoon said the forum "confirmed the urgent demand from parents for more classes at Jamsil High School and examined the impact of the current education system on students at smaller schools," adding that she would continue follow-up discussions "to ensure the education office's positive response leads to an actual expansion of classes."
She also said she would "continue to look after this through the education committee to ensure that middle school students in the area can enroll in the school of their choice, and that current Jamsil High School students are not disadvantaged simply because of the small number of classes."
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
