Korea:Transition Committee Throttles Back

[Harold Schiffman]

Transition Committee Throttles Back

The presidential Transition Committee has decided to present its final
report on ways to strengthen public English-language education to
president-elect Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday and leave any detailed action
plan to the incoming government. The committee¡¯s endless stream of
ambitious suggestions has raised eyebrows, with critics saying they
are clumsy and hasty.
The committee is still to lay the following suggestions before the
president: recruitment of 23,000 new teachers who can conduct English
classes in English by 2013; increase of English classes for elementary
schoolchildren to three classes a week from the current one or two;
retraining of 3,000 current English teachers at home and abroad every
year; and employing English-proficient people such as college
students, housewives and overseas Koreans as teaching assistants.

A key member of the committee said, "It seems people are fed up with
(the committee) because it has presented too many policies in a month,
and they¡¯re also feeling 'English fatigue.' The president elect said
the committee is right as far as its policy direction is concerned,
but that it is the next administration that should make detailed
preparations for the implementation."

The committee will finish formulating policies after submitting a
blueprint for the next government's policies on Tuesday. It consists
of five government goals and a 20-point strategy. Committee spokesman
Lee Dong-kwan said, "The committee has finished about 90 percent of
its duties. After the Lunar New Year's Day holidays, those who want to
run for the general election will leave the committee, and we'll send
government officials who have been working at the committee back to
their previous offices. Only a minimum number of essential manpower
will remain in the committee."

(englishnews at chosun.com )

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200802/200802040011.html

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