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| Students head for cram schools in Daechi-dong in southeastern Seoul, one of the most renowned districts for private education in the country. Korea Times file |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Opinion is divided over the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's (SMOE) plan to ban operation of private study institutes, better known as hagwon, on Sundays. Supporters say the ban will allow students to fully rest at least on Sunday and reduce private education expenditure, while the academy owners and some parents have voiced strong opposition to the plan, which they say limits study options.
The education office has started a study on the issue and is scheduled to make a final decision by the end of this year. If concluding the ban is needed, it will ask the National Assembly to revise the relevant law.
Banning hagwon operations on Sundays is one of SMOE Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon's key election pledges, as well as liberal education chiefs in other regions. It aims to guarantee children the right to rest and protect their health.
Currently private academy operations are banned after 10 p.m., a measure implemented in 2008 with a similar goal.
Supporters of the plan say it can be the minimum legal measure to help children "breathe" at least on Sundays ― Korea has been notorious for the long hours children are expected to study for, with 23.2 percent of students studying over 60 hours a week in and outside of school according to a 2015 OECD report, nearly double the OECD average of 13.3 percent.
A Korea Society Opinion Institute survey in 2017 showed 71.3 percent of parents of middle schoolers and 62.9 percent of those of high schoolers consented to the Sunday ban.
"I think it's a good initiative, letting students rest on Sundays. I sometimes feel bad for my kid, as he has to take numerous courses at study academies after school," a mother of a middle school student surnamed Lee said. "Private institutes have become a must for most households as they fear their child might not be able to keep up in school because most other parents send their children to them."
Some consent to the idea but are skeptical about the effectiveness of the regulation.
"Even with the ban, I believe some academies will continue to operate illegally on Sundays as there will be demand. The government needs to come up with measures to strengthen crackdowns on those academies," a middle school teacher surnamed Chung said.
"Also, even with the ban, well-off families could hire private tutors, which would instead raise the spending on private education. Parents can find alternate private education means if they want."
Some others are voicing opposition to the ban.
"Private education should be left for the parents to decide freely," a comment posted online said.
"The government has been increasing irregular admission procedures for college, and this has led to higher qualifications and competition among high school students. The school curriculum is not enough to prepare for such procedures. Without changing the public education and college admission systems, the Sunday ban won't change the culture of intensive studying," another person wrote.
Even if the SMOE decides to impose the ban, it can't do so on its own because this requires the National Assembly's revision of the relevant law. A revision will take quite a lot of time as well, because lawmakers will have their hands full to prepare for the general election slated for next April.
