Nine out of 10 parents have no intention of spending less on English education for their children, a survey released Monday shows.
The survey results could be seen as an embarrassment for the government, which plans to adopt an absolute grading system for the English section of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) next year in an effort to cut excessive spending on English education.
According to the survey of 514 parents by Yoon English School, a private education company, 93.2 percent of the respondents do not want to cut their spending on private English lessons. Only 6.8 percent said they plan to spend less.
Under the new grading system, students will receive the same grade if their scores exceed set levels. The ministry said the measure aims to curb household spending on English education.
Last year, Koreans spent almost 18 trillion won on private education, one-third of which was for English education.
When asked why they do not plan to cut spending on English lessons, 51.8 percent said the importance of English education goes beyond CSAT scores. Almost 23 percent said they will not spend less because they do not trust the constantly changing policies related to the college entrance exam. About 16.7 percent responded that public education will not be sufficient enough for their children to get good scores.
More than 58 percent of respondents answered they support the new grading system, while 25.4 percent said they do not.