Sounds remarkably like the Chinese system!

> Report from Singapore Strait Times
> http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,266954,00.html
> ?> South Korean grads unable to do the job
> Employers complain that they have to spend money training staff who
> are ill-equipped for the workplace

> By Lee Tee Jong

> SEOUL - Owner Kim Jae Shin of a semiconductor firm has not been
> hiring any new graduates for the past four years because of several
> bad experiences.

> 'While they are good at following instructions, they lacked technical
> skills and I had to spend money to send them for courses, something
> that the university should have done,' he said.

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> Many employers like him blame universities for turning out graduates
> ill-equipped for the workplace.

> In a recent survey by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI),
> human resource managers gave new employees only 26 out of 100 points
> for their level of knowledge and technical skills.

> Samsung Electronics says it spends more than US$65 million (S$112
> million) every year on retraining about 6,000 university-educated
> engineers.

> An FKI spokesman said: 'If we continue spending money on such
> training in this poor economy, it will make us less competitive and
> we will lose out to rivals.'

> The education system, which stresses rote-learning and conformity,
> has also been blamed.

> Seoul National University's Professor Roh Geum Bae explained: 'From
> elementary school, there is only one message that is drummed into the
> students, and that is, to excel in the university entrance exam.'

> Students spend hours mugging for this all-important exam, which
> determines the university one goes to, and which in turn influences
> one's choice of career, lifestyle and even spouse.

> Prof Roh lamented: 'Our students are good at regurgitating facts but
> lack the initiative and creativity to apply them.'

> A human resource manager said his company often recruits workers
> based on university affiliation even if the worker does not have what
> it takes for the job.

> He said: 'I have had arts graduates being accepted for engineering
> posts.'

> The quality of university education has suffered due to a glut of
> mainly profit-oriented universities, which now number about 130.

> Any comments from you guys over in Korea.