Government about to shorten Hagwon opening times
Published today in the Korea Herald, it seems like the Korean government is going to limit how late hagwons can stay open.
The government is preparing to ban hagwon lessons after 10 p.m. to curb private education spending, despite opposition from the cram schools and doubts over whether the plan is realistic.
A key presidential aide said last week that Seoul was reviewing several measures to reduce dependence on private education as part of a “Human New Deal” to keep the middle class from slipping into poverty.
Kwak Seung-joon, chief of the Presidential Council on Future and Vision, reiterated yesterday that restraints on cram schools were inevitable if spending in private education was to be reduced.
“Even if the hagwon industry opposes it, (the plan) will be possible because we have 10 million parents and students behind us,” Kwak said in a CBS radio interview.
“The plan is different from the all-out prohibition of private tutoring in the 1980s because it acknowledges the private education market before 10 p.m. and allows public education to compete with it.”
Other plans considered by the presidential council include reducing the weight accorded to high school grades in college entrance, revamping the admissions system for elite foreign-language high schools and propping up after-school programs.
The Education Ministry plans to unveil the package next month.
Kwak said the government had no choice but to take on the three major hagwon districts in Seoul – Daechi-dong, Junggye-dong and Mokdong.
The hagwon operation hours, controlled under municipal or provincial ordinances until now, will be set by national law to allow law enforcement authorities to intervene, Kwak said.
“There is a social consensus for limiting hagwon`s business hours not just to roll back spending in private education but also for the health of children,” he said.
Those in the cram school business say nighttime hagwon lessons will simply be replaced by more expensive private tutoring, putting a greater burden on the parents.
Many parents and students do not expect the plan to significantly benefit the middle class, either.
“Rich kids can just take up more private tuition, but the middle class and those in the lower income bracket would be deprived of the right to catch up with schoolwork or study a little ahead (of school lessons),” said Park Soon-kyung, who has a son in high school in Junggye-dong, northeastern Seoul.
To prevent exorbitant nighttime private tutoring, Kwak said the government planned to reward those who report illegal or expensive private tuition and launch a tax inquiry.
As for the admissions systems at foreign-language high schools, widely considered a way to get into top-tier universities, Kwak said they should go back to their initial purpose of fostering students with linguistic talent.
“For example, if (the foreign language high schools) emphasize math (for admission), they will sweep up students good in math and all other subjects, heating up private education,” he said, suggesting that math should be wholly or partly removed from the entrance exams for these high schools.
I personally think that hagwons closing at 10pm is still too late from a students perspective. Apart from the obvious health risks of sleep deprivation, I actually question how effective studying will be at that late hour.
