By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Tipsters on overcharges and other irregular practices at hagwon or private cram schools will receive cash rewards of up to 2 million won ($1,700) starting today, the government said Monday.
This is the latest in a series of moves to help reduce soaring private education costs.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has set up a watchdog center in its fight against private cram schools that overcharge parents or operate longer than regulated times, with finishing times normally set at 10-11 p.m.
Whistleblowers on rule-violating private institutes or tutors will receive cash rewards. About 3 billion won has been earmarked for the project this year.
The cash rewards are set at 300,000 won for reporting overcharges or operation beyond designated hours; 500,000 won for identifying unregistered institutes; and up to 20 percent of monthly tuition for detecting illegal tutors.
Each regional education office autonomously sets business hours for hagwon. For example, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education bans hagwon from running after 10 p.m. The deadline is 11 p.m. for Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.
Tipsters can send information by letter, phone and Web site of the ministry, www.mest.go.kr. Tipsters will receive the cash once the information is confirmed.
``Some 200 watchdog officials will be placed at regional education offices that have more than 500 institutes. We will thoroughly monitor institutes and tutors until irregularities involved in private education are rooted out,'' Seo Myung-beon, director general of the ministry, said.
Seo said the government introduced the system as it is not an easy task for the government to monitor all institutes and tutors.
To make the project more practical, the ministry will closely work with police and the National Tax Service. The tax office will crack down on hagwon that underreport income to evade tax.