By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Chung Un-chan called for a crackdown on illegal private tutoring, Friday, saying it was crucial to rein in the growing household burden of private education to address the country's low birthrate.

"We must strengthen the monitoring of private cram schools, or hagwon, to reduce household spending on private education," Chung said during a meeting with educational policymakers.

"The administration will consider various measures, including a crackdown on hagwon, to address rising educational costs."

He also pledged to focus on shifting the educational paradigm to nurture creative and multi-talented students, and also to address the low birthrate and rapid aging of society.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister, the National Tax Service will work together with the National Police Agency and the Fair Trade Commission to audit cram schools suspected of having failed to report tuition hikes to dodge taxes.

The actions reflect concerns that growing private education costs are weighing heavily on urban households.

Such costs have grown rapidly in recent years. Households spent 40 trillion won on private tutoring last year, compared with 30 trillion won in 2005.

The number of elementary school students in Korea fell to a record low of 3.47 million last year, compared with 3.55 million in 2007 and 5.5 million in 1980.

Analysts worry the planned income tax cuts won't boost private spending as many families are expected to spend extra disposable income on private education for their children rather than purchasing goods.

"Government agencies will share the outcome of investigations into hagwon to find a solution to the soaring education costs," an official from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

"Parents have complained that many hagwon only accept cash for the settlement of tuition fees and reject credit cards. We need to check whether hagwon are dodging taxes."

Hagwon owners say tuition rises reflect inflation in general. The hikes are also in line with growing expectations among parents that the government's move to set up English-only schools and increase English immersion classes in public schools will raise educational costs.

President Lee Myung-bak has repeatedly called for measures to drastically reform public education in a bid to reduce the country's private tutoring burden.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr