"Teacher, I won't do it, even if you ask me to"... The declining authority of teachers and the falling entrance exam scores for teacher training colleges

As the popularity of teaching careers wanes, the entrance threshold for teacher training colleges is lowering. For the 2025 academic year, the admission cutoff scores for teacher colleges have fallen to around the mid-7th grade in high school grades for early admission and around the mid-4th grade in college entrance exam scores for regular admission. In the case of general early admission, students with a high school grade of 6th grade are also being accepted into teacher colleges, and the 5th grade threshold has collapsed.

On the 27th, Jongno Academy analyzed the admission scores for the 2025 academic year for teacher colleges and elementary education departments, including both early decision and regular admission. As a result, a student with a grade 6 in the regular curriculum was accepted through early decision. In some special admission categories (such as for national veterans), students with a grade 7 in their academic records also gained acceptance. This analysis was based on the 2025 admission scores for five universities: Seoul National University of Education, Chuncheon National University of Education, Cheongju National University of Education, Gwangju National University of Education, and Korea National University of Education.

Im Seong-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, said, "It is very unusual for a student with a grade of 6 in the high school record to be accepted through the regular early admission process for teacher training colleges," and added, "This shows that not only top-tier students but also mid-tier students are losing their preference for teacher training colleges." Looking at the results of teacher training college admissions over the past three years, the lowest grade in the regular early admission process among five universities was 5.72 in the 2024 academic year at Chuncheon Teacher Training College. However, in the 2025 academic year, a student with a grade of 6.35 was accepted through the same process at the same school, breaking the 5-grade threshold.

Looking at each school, the admission cutoff for Seoul National University of Education's regular early admission is a grade of 2.10, which has decreased from 1.97 last year. In the case of the comprehensive student record admission, the cutoff was also lower than last year's (1.99 grade), at 2.45 grades.

Chuncheon National University of Education's regular admission cutoff grade for the general screening was 6.15, dropping more than one grade from the previous year (4.73). In the case of the teacher qualification talent selection, which recruits 101 students, the cutoff grade fell to 6.35.

The passing scores for regular admission also steadily declined. Seoul National University of Education's cutoff score, based on its own conversion score, was 618.41 points, down 3.33 points from the previous year (621.74 points).

The admission cutoff score for Gwangju National University of Education, which was in the early 4th grade on last year's CSAT, dropped to the mid-4th grade range.

All five universities that disclosed their passing scores had reduced their freshman admission numbers compared to the previous year, yet the cutoff scores for both early and regular admissions decreased.

Additionally, the number of unfilled positions at the 10 national medical schools has continued to increase, with 9 students in the 2021 academic year, 16 in 2022, 22 in 2023, and 23 in 2024.

 

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The authority of teachers has collapsed, and the number of students is also decreasing significantly.

 

The number of teachers is also decreasing... Even teachers who are asked to do it don't want to do it.

 

It seems that the number of new shift recruits not yet filled is also increasing.

 

Is this a continuous vicious cycle...