Should Hagwon Run Round-the-Clock?
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The Lee Myung-bak administration is trying to free up every corner of the education field. After giving universities power to select student admissions, education authorities are now moving to allow private cram schools or hagwon to run their institutes as late as they want.
Seoul city council said it plans to allow limitless hours for hagwon.
Civic groups, parents and many experts immediately expressed opposition to the move. They said the ``deregulation'' would force students to study all night long and harm their health as well as pose a threat to the public educational system.
Moreover, Seoul's case could serve as a role model for other local councils and the rest of the nation, experts say vowing to stop the moves.
The deregulation move first came about last year, when some council members tried to extend the business hours of hagwon from the current 5 a.m.- 10 p.m. to 11.p.m.
According to Choi Byeong-hwan of the Grand National Party: ``Society is mature enough to handle such liberty. Regulation is worse.''
On Wednesday, the council's educational committee passed a revision bill to abolish limitations on business hours. Since most of the members standing for deregulation are from the GNP, the bill is most likely to pass the general session of the council on March 18.
However, experts denounced it. The Commission on Youth Protection, now a part of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, previously warned that the extension would cause a lack of sleep, irregular meals that could affect students who are still growing. Also, they said it could infringe on individual rights to pursue happiness.
Kim Ji-hak of civic group School Health said the revision is a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guaranteeing children's rights to live, survive, grow up, be healthy and take leisure.
Study at Sacrifice of Health
``A survey showed about 40 percent of elementary and middle school students are skipping meals due to tight study schedules,'' he added.
The progressive Korean Teachers & Education Workers' Union said Korean students already lack sleep and the deregulation will make matters worse. ``According to our information, 17-18 year-old students sleep for 5.4 hours a day while those in the United States, Japan and China sleep for 7-8, 6-7 and 7.5 hours a day, respectively,'' the organization spokesman Hyun In-cheol said.
He said many of the institutes in Seoul run all night already, and the revision will just proliferate their ``obnoxious'' actions. ``Do we really have to see children sleep in the classrooms and study at night in hagwon?'' he said. Hyun added that the revision is almost ``violent'' to students and warned that too much liberty could be disastrous.
``I don't think my children will be happy to hear the news. It is great stress for them,'' Park Beom-yee, a spokesman for the Parents for True Education said.
``Also, hagwon will now set a special fee for over-night sessions, Ivy League classes and others. The revision will allow them to rake in money from parents. It will widen the gap among people according to their income.'' he added.
Even the conservative New Right Teachers' Union, who have traditionally been strong supporters of GNP policies and deregulation in the education field, opposed the revision.
``It is nonsense. I say there is a connection between the council members and hagwon owners. Do they care about the students? It is the government who should pursue the happiness of everyone. The bill will worsen the educational environment in the country and students' mental and physical health,'' Oh Seung-bae, the president, said.
The groups all vowed to hold protests and fight the bill.