Anxious High School Parents Increased Private Education... Government Repeats Policies

High School Students Participating in Private Education Spend Over 32,000 Won
Impact of Increased Admission Anxiety Due to COVID-19 Remote Classes
Ministry of Education's Alternatives: Expanded School Attendance and Online Tutors
Civic Groups Say "Admission Confusion Mainly Caused by Difficult Exam Policy"

The academy district in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Despite the continuation of remote classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the enthusiasm for private education among high school students did not subside. This was largely due to anxiety over college entrance exam preparation and the need to supplement insufficient classes.

According to the "2020 Private Education Expenditure Survey" released on the 9th by the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea, the average monthly private education expenditure per high school student was 388,000 KRW, an increase of 23,000 KRW compared to the previous year. The time spent on private education increased by 0.2 hours to 5.9 hours, and the participation rate also rose by 0.2 percentage points to 5.9%.

When considering only high school students who participated in private education, the average monthly expenditure was 640,000 KRW, up 32,000 KRW (5.2%) from the previous year. The purposes for attending private education also saw increases, with 85.6% choosing to supplement school classes and 40.5% for advanced learning, up 0.6 and 0.3 percentage points respectively from last year, indicating ongoing pressure related to school grades and college entrance exams.

Analyzing private education expenditure by subject, spending on English and Mathematics was high, but with English switching to absolute evaluation in the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), the growth rates for Korean and Social/Science subjects were relatively higher. Private education expenditure for Social/Science subjects increased by 22,000 KRW and Korean by 9,000 KRW compared to the previous year. The subject-wise private education expenditure for participating high school students was △Mathematics 324,000 KRW △English 280,000 KRW △Korean 237,000 KRW △Social/Science 230,000 KRW.

The solutions proposed by the Ministry of Education to address private education included expanding school attendance, increasing basic academic skill teachers, introducing online tutors, policies centered on the CSAT and student records for college admissions, and customized learning guidance for research and pilot schools under the high school credit system, which were largely reiterations of existing measures.

The civic group "Society Without Private Education Worries" pointed out, "This survey is based on data from March to May and July to September, excluding the winter vacation period when private education is particularly concentrated. On an annual basis, the total private education expenditure would be higher." They added, "The increase in high school private education expenditure is mainly due to confusion in college admissions and the difficult CSAT trend. CSAT questions should be designed within the scope and level of the high school curriculum. There is a need to supplement regulations for blind spots such as telemarketing businesses and study cafes."

Professor Song Ki-chang of the Department of Education at Sookmyung Women’s University explained, "Private education costs are competitive costs, so they are difficult to reduce. After-school programs and EBS lectures were introduced in public education to address this. Current public education only ensures students sit in classrooms, but after-school education should be strengthened to reduce private education costs for students struggling academically."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.