Crackdown on Illegal Tutoring Ineffective

This is the second in a series of articles on illegal private tutoring. ― ED.

By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter

Many students take private English lessons for writing and speaking to prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and TOEFL test for admission to U.S. universities. But many of those teaching are doing so illegally.

The education authorities have no immediate measures planned to crack down on illegal private tutoring by foreigners.

"It is hard to control tutoring due to privacy matters, especially when it comes to foreigners. Moreover, many of those who seek out such tutoring are well connected, leaving little room for authorities to uncover their illegal transactions," said Kim Chul-woon, director of the Private Institute Monitoring Team at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Kim lamented, "We can't just barge into every house, without a warrant, where foreigners are suspected of giving lessons."

About 1,720 suspected illegal tutoring cases have been reported to the authorities. Only 368 cases were subject to punishment, all of which involved Korean tutors.

No foreign tutors have been caught by the authorities for violation of the Private Education Law, the ministry said.

More than 15,000 tutors have registered their activities to the appropriate education office since the government introduced programs to reward informants on illegal tutoring last July.

In Seoul alone, 11,967 cases of private tutoring have been registered with education offices in the city. Among them, 76 have been made by foreigners holding F-series visas such as the F-2 (spouses of Koreans), F-4 (ethnic Koreans) and F-5 (permanent residence). Most of them are teaching English.

Under the Immigration Law, foreigners with other visa types are not allowed to offer private tutoring to make money, except for those with student status, who can do so with restricted hours upon approval from their professors. Otherwise, foreign nationals are subject to fines and deportation.

In the meantime, the ministry has delivered official documents to public and private universities as well as elementary and secondary schools, requesting them to ensure their native English-speaking teachers are not involved in illegal tutoring.

kswho@koreatimes.co.kr

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