By Kim Bo-eun
Pricy computer coding classes in the private sector are thriving ahead of the introduction of such classes at public schools; but the government is allegedly turning a blind eye.
The government announced it would make coding classes mandatory for upper-level elementary and middle school students in 2018. In response, the private sector has delved into the opportunity to take advantage of parents’ wishes to provide their children a head start.
The large scale of private education is a deep-rooted problem in Korea, but it has become a bigger issue with regards to coding education.
This is because unlike classes teaching Korean language, math and English, the cost for coding classes is much higher.
Data from Rep. Park Kyung-mee of the Democratic Party of Korea shows camps teaching the MIT-developed programming language Scratch and robotics during summer vacation charged as much as 600,000 won ($528) for three-day courses.
Private coding academies weekly classes charge 300,000 won a month. Some academies that provide classes in English charge over 1 million won a month.
While programming language software is available for free, the academies charge for learning kits that include interactive objects.
The academies also target young students _ first and second graders in elementary school _ raising concerns of posing an excessive academic burden on children.
However, the government has not taken any measures to curb the phenomenon.
Last December, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and ICT pledged in their software education plan to monitor the private education market for coding classes.
“Private coding education targeting young children can create another education gap,” Park said.
“As much as private academies are inciting anxiety in parents to put their children in classes, the government must legally require academies to disclose their curricula and tuition in detail so that monitoring can be done. Rigorous monitoring is urgently needed.”
Expensive private classes are a problem because they can contribute to an education gap between the haves and have-nots.
A government study released in March showed high-income households spent 8.8 times as much on private education than low-income ones.