Private Cram School Fees Expected to Move Upward
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Private cram schools in Seoul are expected to be able to raise fees more easily as education authorities move to ease rules on the tuition ceiling.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education recently said it would rewrite regulations capping tuition so that private education institutes, known as "hagwon," can adjust their tuition to reflect their condition.
The move came just weeks after the Seoul Administration Court ruled that the uniformed ceiling runs counter to the Constitution.
"We will form a committee consisting of accountants and other experts to help hagwon set realistic tuition," said Kim Sang-yeol, an official from the education office. "However, it doesn't mean we will not supervise hagwon that overcharge parents."
Under the revised regulation, the education office will look into account books when cram schools file applications for tuition hikes.
However, many parents are concerned that the removal of the ceiling will eventually lead to higher fees.
"If the education authorities allow a private cram school to raise its tuition beyond the ceiling, it could provoke other hagwon to increase their tuition," said the mother of a child who attends a Seoul middle school.
All private academic institutes are required to report their fees to local education offices. But it is no secret that many hagwon charge more than they report to the authorities and some increase other expenses, such as extra textbooks and special classes, in order to avoid tuition restrictions.
More than 2,500 hagwon across the country have been disciplined for overcharging since 2005.
According to a recent survey by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, about 67 percent of private cram schools have overcharged parents and underreported tuition costs to regional education authorities. Among them, more than 40 percent charged parents more than twice the standardized tuition level and 8.1 percent charged more than five times.
The survey also found that almost 90 percent of parents felt they were under pressure due to hagwon tuition costs for their children. For these reasons, education authorities have taken stern action against hagwon for overcharging, tax evasion and other irregularities.
President Lee Myung-bak also asked authorities to set up measures to keep a lid on private education costs.
However, many hagwon have complained that such regulations bolster illegal private group tutoring and favor large-scale hagwon.
According to government data, households in Seoul spent an average of 198,522 won per month on private education costs in the first three months of the year, up 25.4 percent from a year earlier. Their inflation-adjusted labor income, however, fell 2.9 percent in the same period.