By Yun Suh-young
Twenty-two private academies were caught illegally accepting boarding students during the weekend, the authorities said Monday.
Since the implementation of the five-day school week in March, private institutes that operate in the form of boarding schools took off as parents were keen to send their kids for extra study.
The academies, however, face investigations as many break regulations regarding operations.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology conducted a crackdown from March to May on illegal private institutes nationwide and found 22 operating illegally as boarding institutes. They were mostly centered in major educational districts in and around the metropolitan area. Most were found in Gyeonggi Province with 11, followed by Seoul with six, South Gyeongsang Province with two and South Chungcheong, South Jeolla and Daegu with one each.
Out of the total 21,950 private institutes investigated by the educational authorities, 1,601 private academies were operating illegally. The ministry took administrative measures against them.
The illegal private institutes were mostly widespread in Seoul with 389 followed by Gyeonggi Province with 290, Daegu with 193, South Chungcheong Province with 118, Incheon with 91 and Busan with 84.
Out of them, 927 received a warning, 184 were fined, and 70 were suspended from operating. Seven had their registrations cancelled.
“We plan to continue the crackdown as illegal private academies are operating nationwide to attract students on the weekends given that students have a five-day school week. Those operating illegally will face penalties,” the ministry said in a statement.
The private academies that operated illegally include those that charged excessive tuition fees, those that were not registered, places that remodeled libraries or motels into academies, institutes that operated past designated hours, and ones that put up false or exaggerated advertisements.