Concerns are mounting that the high school credit system, now applied to current second-year high school students, could widen the academic achievement gap between students in major cities and those in small and mid-sized regional cities. Critics warn the system may intensify educational polarization across regions, contrary to its intended purpose.
According to a report titled "Implementation Status and Future Tasks of the High School Credit System" released by the National Assembly Research Service on the 10th, schools in rural, mountainous, and fishing communities with smaller student populations can physically offer fewer courses than large schools in major cities, restricting subject selection for students at smaller schools.
Under the current five-tier relative grading system, when small schools increase elective offerings, class sizes split into courses with fewer than nine students. This makes it impossible for any student to receive a "Grade 1 (top 10%)" or severely disadvantages grade management. As a result, students gravitate toward subjects where earning high grades is easier rather than those matching their aptitudes.
"Under the high school credit system, universities increasingly emphasize major suitability. Yet students at small schools face limitations in course offerings and infrastructure, preventing them from completing courses universities recommend. This raises significant concerns about point deductions in qualitative evaluations compared to large schools," the report stated.
"Online schools and joint curricula are being operated to address these differences, but shortages of 'co-teaching' personnel to manage student safety and class operations, as well as insufficient instructors for online schools, have emerged," the report noted. Transportation difficulties during inter-school joint curriculum operations were identified as particularly problematic.
Concerns were also raised about potentially lower teacher expertise at small schools. Teachers at these schools handle multiple subjects and "mismatched subjects"—courses taught by teachers without relevant majors when specialists are unavailable. At schools with only one or two classes per grade, teacher shortages force educators to teach four or five subjects outside their expertise, compromising teaching quality.
Administrative burden compounds the problem. Total administrative work required for school operations remains similar regardless of school size, intensifying workload per teacher at smaller institutions.
Improvement suggestions emerged regarding "minimum achievement level guarantee guidance." For students pursuing athletics or other specialized activities alongside academics, supplementary instruction and assessment management to meet attendance and grade requirements for each subject creates substantial burden for teachers. Under the credit system, attendance must be recorded and grade standards met for every subject, but teachers at understaffed small schools cannot realistically track down such students.
Recruiting temporary teachers outside regular quotas proves difficult as rural areas frequently receive insufficient applicants, with applications declining overall. Some small schools saw their allocated temporary teacher positions decrease in 2026 compared to 2025.
Field reports reveal cases where schools posted job announcements six times seeking temporary teachers to support class hours for school violence coordinators, yet positions remained unfilled, forcing staff to perform duties without support. Schools resort to stopgap measures, filling vacancies through retired teachers or personal referrals.
Structural limitations in curriculum operation and management continue to surface. At some small schools, special education class teachers handle curriculum duties for the entire school. At vocational high schools, where career guidance and field training occur frequently, teacher absences cannot be covered, making it physically impossible to offer diverse electives. When temporary teachers serve as homeroom teachers while rotating among three schools, limitations emerge in student management tasks including maintaining student records.
Questions persist about online school effectiveness. Most vocational high school students lack foundational academic skills, and critics argue that recommending self-directed online learning to such students fails to fulfill public education's purpose of "responsible education." Large general high schools strive to open courses despite difficulties, while small vocational schools remain passive about course development.
"Claims are emerging that implementation of the high school credit system concentrates all personnel and resources in large urban schools where course offerings and teacher recruitment are easier, accelerating the decline of small schools and their communities," the report stated.
"For the credit system to take root at small schools, reinforcing online school instructors matters, but urgent priority should be given to adding teachers who can directly instruct and manage students on-site. Support for teaching staff at small schools should be expanded for a certain period," the report recommended.
The report called for consultation with metropolitan and provincial education offices to consider preferential teacher quota standards for small schools, incentives for resident teachers, and improved learning environments including transportation convenience for joint curriculum students.