The direction and flow of education are constantly changing. And even now, the trend of hoping to change continues. Even if it's not a change led by education workers, we have to keep pace with it. Education also needs changes because development is necessary for the future and if there are unnecessary elements, they must be removed and changed.

However, there are voices of controversy over whether the trigger of change is correct or whether it is an "appropriate" change that has been made with the consent of the majority, reflecting their opinions through enough discussion.

Therefore, among the many discussions, let's find out the issues related to education that has recently become a social issue and have been actively discussed in our school community (called “Everytime”) and think about whether the direction of recent education is right.

The first issue is the establishment of a major in the convergence of elementary school teachers. Recently, the Ministry of Education announced a plan to establish a new major in the convergence of elementary school teachers. The elementary school teacher convergence major refers to a system that allows elementary school teachers to qualify for middle school teachers if they complete 30 credits of the designated education. As a result, the number of teaching courses, and the quota of education colleges, graduate schools that train middle and high school teachers are expected to be reduced. Through this, the Ministry of Education has set a goal of lowering the excessively high competition rate for appointments. In 2021, the number of secondary school teachers recruited was 388 and the number of applicants was 4,670. As a result, the competition rate reached 12.04:1. Compared to 2020, the number of applicants has fallen by 622 and the competition rate is higher than 11.33:1. It also announced plans to promote the completion

of the "convergence major" in connection with the training for regular teachers so that teachers can have the ability to teach various subjects.

However, the opposition’s opinion is also formidable. "There is a qualitative difference between the department to teach elementary school students and the department to teach middle and high school students due to the difference in the learning period," he said, "A petition for withdrawal was posted along with the opinion, there will be a big difference in subject expertise between those who have passed the secondary school appointment examination with expertise in one subject for at least one to two years or more of major learning and the preliminary elementary school teachers who have completed 30 credits." In an online deliberation conducted by the National Education Conference last year, 71% of the respondents said the number of secondary school teachers should be reduced, leading to a petition for withdrawal.

Within the Korea National University of Education, the department to teach elementary school students and the department to teach middle and high school students to coexist. So INDIGO thought that there would be an active exchange of opinions on this topic, especially on campus. We decided to cover what the faculty undergraduate students thought about this, so conducted an interview. Below are the opinions of the students of the establishment of a major in the convergence of elementary school teachers.

Second, the integration of the National University and the National University of Education. As the Pusan National University and the Pusan National University of Education have recently begun discussions on integration, the education community is paying attention to whether local universities will move to merge and abolish them in earnest. University restructuring due to a decrease in the school-age population is a predicted trend, but it will be difficult to reach an agreement due to considerable resistance about integration inside and outside the school. Pusan National University and Pusan National University

of Education took the first step in discussing the integration plan by signing an MOU(memorandum of understanding). The integration of the two universities is interpreted as a decrease in the number of new elementary school teachers due to a decrease in the school-age population, which inevitably reduces the number of students and triggers financial pressure. The Jeju National University of Education was incorporated into Jeju National University of Education in 2008, and if the integration is achieved, it will be the second case of ‘Integration of Base National University and National University Of Education’.

The Korea University Education Council said a total of 26,129 additional students are recruited from 162 universities nationwide for the 2021 school year. This means that the number of people with insufficient capacity has tripled from theprevious year's 9,830 people. It is the highest in 2016. Critics point out that consolidation is inevitable this year due to the decrease in the school-age population that has caused a large- scale shortage of capacity for national universities and shifts. In particular, private universities in the Yeongnam region. National universities such as Pusan National University (90 students), Pukyong National University (79) and Korea Maritime University (52) also faced a series of departments with insufficient capacity. This is because the preference for the metropolitan area has been maximized as the school-age population has decreased along with the expectation that they could get a good job if they go to a university in the metropolitan area.

The number of teachers decreases due to a decrease in the school-age population, making it difficult for graduates to get a job. However, when the university of Education is reorganized into a department in a national university, not an educational university, the admission quota itself decreases. So, someone tends to want them integrated.

The number of elementary school teachers recruited this year was 3,500, down about half from 6,828 seven years ago, but the number of elementary school teachers nationwide is currently 3,800.

However, students are very opposed to this. Busan National University of Education students and the alumni association are expressing the opposite position, saying, "The expertise as an elementary school teacher training institution will weaken." It has been 13 years since the Jeju National University and the Jeju National University of Education were integrated, but only "formal integration" has been achieved, and there are constant criticisms that exchanges between the two campuses are insufficient. In addition, the education community is concerned that "the status and identity as a special purpose university that trains elementary school teachers will weaken," and the Federation of Professors' Councils of the National University of Education also issued a statement to oppose integration. As mentioned, new changes in education continue and are being attempted. Whenever that happens, is it right for us to accept it as the government pushes for it? That's not true. In the end, it is us who will go through big changes, and the change cannot be said to be unconditionally correct. Therefore, "We must listen to many people's opinions and not ignore them." We should also be true educators who can speak out about the wrong things for proper education. In the process of changing the education policy, the participation of the National Education Council is one kind of way we can act as prospective educators.

The National Education Conference opens the opportunity for public participation and reflects it. You can discuss future education agendas through online surveys, online platform discussion rooms, open - forums, and offline intensive discussions. Anyone can easily apply by submitting applications to regional promotion groups. Following is the order. The website of the National Education Association - People's Participation Group - Local governments and participating organizations' online applications. As a person who will become an education workers in the future, we should actively present our opinions and actively participate in the forum.