Time to Push Education Reform to Cut Private Tutoring

The nation has again been thrown into a heated debate over how to reform foreign-language high schools which are seen as the culprit behind ever increasing private tutoring costs. Rep. Chung Doo-un of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) has recently ignited a new round of discussions by proposing that the elite schools be shut down in a move to resolve their side effects.

It is not surprising that Chung's proposal has immediately touched off a strong backlash from operators of the special-purpose schools, cram schools and a conservative association of teachers. However, the lawmaker is not willing to back down from his plan to revamp foreign-language high schools, although he has slightly altered his stance due to the opposing voices.

Rep. Chung, a confidant of President Lee Myung-bak, is spearheading the reform initiative. On Wednesday, media reports said that Lee had instructed presidential aides to play an active role in resolving the issue, although he warned that an education policy should not have recourse to populism. The starting point of the special-purpose school reform is how to help ax private tutoring expenses and ease stress for college entrance exams.

A more fundamental problem is that the elite schools have failed to serve their special purpose of fostering the foreign-language proficiency needed for future global leaders. Instead, they have virtually turned themselves into ``cram schools" to recruit smart students to help them enter into prestigious universities. There are now 30 foreign-language high schools across the nation after debuting 20 years ago. They are part of an elite group of institutions along with science and art high schools.

Such schools are designed to offer top-notch education under the egalitarian and standardized education system, which was introduced in 1974 to ensure equal opportunities for all students. In fact, they have contributed to cultivating high-performing students. However, they have been blamed for widening an education divide between children of rich families and those of poor households.

At stake now is how to find a solution to the problem. Policymakers are considering turning the elite institutions into ordinary ones, schools with autonomous curricula, or international schools. Few can rule out a compromise to keep foreign-language schools in operation on condition that they scrap English listening comprehension tests which are blamed for stoking private tutoring.

Total expenditure on private tutoring for elementary, middle and high schools was estimated at 20.9 trillion won ($17.2 billion) last year, up 4.3 percent from 2007. Much of the sum was spent on English learning. Most Koreans call for bold steps to slash the burden. But it is doubtful that only the abolition of foreign-language schools would reduce the demand for private lessons.

Therefore, policymakers and educators are required to overhaul the entire education system and the college admissions policy in order to hammer out more comprehensive measures to free students from private tutoring and narrow the education divide. It is urgent to restore the dilapidated classroom education and put an end to college entrance exam-oriented curricula. It is easier said than done.