Education Union Questions 'Resurrection' of Campus Life Survey; Ministry Denies

The National Federation of Education Industry Unions (NFEIU) questioned today whether the 'Campus Life Survey,' which the Ministry of Education (MOE) had discontinued to reduce administrative burdens, has been effectively revived under the name 'Friendly Campus Human Rights Environment Indicator Assessment Scale.' The NFEIU stated in a press release that despite the MOE's decision to cancel the survey to reduce the burden on schools, it appears to have continued the investigation under a different name and even included it as an assessment item for local governments. The NFEIU pointed out that the scale asks students to evaluate issues such as education regulations, teacher discipline, and assessment systems, for which students may not have sufficient judgment, fearing that the results could be misinterpreted and lead to endless report writing for schools. In response, the MOE told the Central News Agency this evening that due to feedback from teachers and schools regarding the complexity of the survey, it had issued a notice to local governments on May 21 to stop its implementation. Regarding the 'Friendly Campus Human Rights Environment Indicator,' the MOE explained that it has been commissioned to academic institutions since 2006 and revised in 2012, and has been used as an assessment item for general subsidies to local governments for 'many years.' The MOE emphasized that this indicator is not a newly added assessment item for this year, but is intended to understand the implementation of friendly campus human rights environments and the strengthening of human rights values, conducted through sampling by local governments.