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By Kim Jae-heun
Parents and teachers are against the government's plan to extend elementary school hours until 3 p.m. for lower-grade students as part of countermeasures against the low birthrate.
The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy revealed its plan Monday to cope with the problem that young students of dual-income families are left unattended when they finish school at 1 p.m.
Currently, most first and second graders at elementary schools finish at 1 p.m. while third and fourth graders, finish at 2 p.m. Only fifth and sixth graders are in school until 3 p.m.
Many parents have been struggling to find someone who can take care of their children after school until they return from work, especially for younger students who cannot take care of themselves alone at home. Schools operate after-school daycare programs for such children but there are not enough programs to cater for the vast amount of students.
As a result, sending children straight to private institutions after school has become the most preferred alternative for married couples. Around 8,000 women quit their jobs every year when their children enter elementary school.
The presidential committee said parents will spend less money on private education if they adopt a policy to extend school hours. It said that during the additional time, students will have more play-focused programs than academic ones.
However, many parents do not agree with the government's idea.
Yoo Sun-hyang, mother of a first-grade student, said, "There is no big difference between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. _ even if my son finishes at 3 p.m., there is a still four- to five-hour gap until I come home from work, and he has to spend time at the academy anyway."
Kim Hae-jung, mother of an eight-year-old daughter, said the committee's idea won't discourage parents from sending their children to private institutes.
"Parents are sending their kids to private institutes so the children can learn the subjects in advance and won't fall behind at school," Kim said, adding the school hours do not matter.
Education circles are against the government's plan, too, with teachers saying they will face a bigger workload.
The Seoul Teachers Union issued an official statement immediately, saying school is not a daycare facility but a place where students are educated.
"The Ministry of Education, which has the authority to design curriculum, should not leave this issue in the hands of the committee," the union said in its statement. "Forcing young children to stay at school until 3 p.m. is not a solution to the low birthrate, and it could cause other complications. The key to fighting the low birthrate lies in setting a legal and social system in which parents can have days off and childcare leave freely."
The Ministry of Education said it cannot talk about its stance at the moment and the government's plan needs to be reviewed.
Still, the presidential committee plans to put the initiative into practice by 2024.
"It is already a global trend that all grades at elementary school finish at 3 p.m. altogether," said Jung Jae-hoon, a social science professor at Seoul Women's University. "It is a trend in modern society that elementary schools provide both education and daycare functions."
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