By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Facing a decreasing number of students, English immersion villages are seeking a breakthrough to keep them afloat.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Monday, it plans to introduce after-school and weekend programs to provide English villages with extra sources of income.
The plan is to diversify and widen the range of programs provided.
The city currently runs English immersion villages in Pungnap-dong, eastern Seoul and Suyu, northern Seoul. Now it plans to add another in Naksungdae, southern Seoul.
The city will offer opportunities to visit the centers to students from underprivileged or low-income families, with their number ultimately accounting for 20 percent of the total. They will be able to take part in the courses free of charge.
Most of the English villages have been suffering from financial difficulties due to shortages of students. According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, English villages across the country lost 21 billion won in 2007.
Data since 2008 was not available, because local governments now run the English-only facilities.
A ministry official said that in 2007 these centers depended on local governments for 38 percent of their expenses to make ends meet. "With the increasing number of English villages suffering from deficits, city and provincial governments have to bear the growing losses." She said that the situation could only be worse now.
A total of 21 English villages in 18 cities and provinces were in operation as of May 2008 and some 208 billion won will be invested to build 23 more villages by 2011.
In 2007, 437,420 students attended English villages and the number of visitors averaged 23,022 per day. Among them, 249,374, more than half the total, attended courses at Paju English Village.
Many parents and students who participated in the programs complained that the students could easily get away without using English as required and thus made immersion education less effective.
Students and teachers who communicate in Korean can be easily seen in some villages, the participants say.
The local governments are trying to have these villages live up to the spirit of their foundation, conducting more stringent inspections on whether these schools are run in accordance with regulations.