Student Discipline (CRC/C/KOR/Q/3-4, para. 29) 45. The Enforcement Ordinance of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was revised in March 2011, introduced the attendance suspension system (no longer than 10 days at one time, and no longer than 30 days in a year) as a form of student discipline. In this regard, in March 2011, the NHRCK expressed concern that the new system has a broad adverse effect on the students, reasoning that it corresponds to a severe sanction that deprives the students concerned of the right to learning, its educational effectiveness has not been proved and the students against whom the disciplinary action was taken may be disadvantaged with regard to their advance to a higher-level school as it is recorded as 'unauthorized absence' in their school reports. Furthermore, considering that the attendance suspension system fails to guarantee the students' right to petition for review, although it is prescribed in the national legislation, The NHRCK stated that, in case the system is adopted for an inevitable reason, it should be accompanied by the provision that guarantees the students' right to petition for review. 46. At present, many schools have used the merit and demerit points system as a way of student guidance. However, the system has some side effects in its operation: there are cases where the system is being carried out without the students' opinions being taken into consideration; demerit points are overused or misused; or the students who, with accumulated demerit points, are subject to a disciplinary action have little access to the complaint-making or remedial procedure and, therefore, may face an unfair disciplinary decision. In this regard, the NHRCK judged that, when a student, as a consequence of accumulated demerit points, was forced to leave the school and transfer to a school in another local community, the school failed to comply with the statutory procedures and violated the student's right to choose schools, and recommended the authorities concerned to take actions to prevent recurrence of similar cases (in 2008). 47. The Government needs to re-examine feasibility of the attendance suspension system. If the system should be adopted for an unavoidable reason, the Government should work out the ways to ensure that the system is not abused at school and the disadvantage to the students is minimized and also should legally guarantee the students' and parents' right to petition for review of any decision on attendance suspension, considering that attendance suspension is a severe disciplinary action. Additionally, the Government should take guidance and supervisory measures to ensure the merit/demerit points system is not abused as a student disciplinary method. 12