헌법상 공교육원칙에 따른 EBS 수능강의 정책의 정당성

These days, many countries try to use information and communication technology (ICT) in education to promote the quality of public education and enhance educational competitiveness. Korea makes a concerted efforts to improve educational methods with various multimedia and ICT such as the EBS lecture program and e-learning systems. Since 2004, the government has made several policies to reduce private tutoring costs. One of these policy efforts is the EBS lecture programs mainly designed for teaching CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) skills. Several studies suggest that the EBS lecture programs are not effective in reducing private tutoring costs, even though the government claims that this year is the first year that private tutoring costs have actually been reduced. This study intends to review this policy from a legal standpoint, regarding whether the policy is constitutionally legitimate or not. The 31st and 119th articles in the Korean Constitution and the Channel One case in the U.S.A are also comparatively examined. Conflicts may arise regarding whether school teachers are compelled to use the EBS program during regular class time, or whether students and their parents can be given the option to opt out. Particularly for these conflicts, meaningful implications can be obtained from the review of the Channel One case. As CSAT influences the high school curriculum, if CSAT is connected to the EBS lecture programs, it will ultimately restrict school teachers’ right to choose how and what to teach in the classrooms as well as the right of students and parents to decide which private tutoring courses to take. It may even require students to take additional private tutoring for the EBS materials beyond CSAT contents, which may cost parents more. Furthermore, the government’s supports for the EBS lecture program monopolizes one private tutoring entity and thus threatens free competition within the private tutoring market.