[Impact of 7-Year-Old Elementary School Admission] One-Way Decision Ignoring Students and Parents... Strong Backlash

Parents and Teachers Both Oppose... Related Organizations Demand Withdrawal
Deputy Prime Minister Park Sunae Expresses Strong Will "Will Allow Optional Choices"
Concerns Over Early Private Education Encouragement Starting with Korean Acquisition and School Rule Compliance
Parents Worry About School Violence and Bullying... Disadvantages in College Admission and Employment

On the 15th, as summer vacation began at Cheonggu Elementary School in Jung-gu, Seoul, students who finished the vacation ceremony were greeting their teachers. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] As the Ministry of Education plans to advance the school starting age by one year from 2025, parents and teachers are collectively opposing the reform. The lack of prior consultation and the perception that the policy stems from economic logic without considering children's school adaptation issues have sparked outrage among parents.

On the 1st, 36 organizations including the World Without Private Education Concerns, the Teachers' Labor Union Federation, the National and Public Kindergarten Teachers' Union, and the Private Kindergarten Association will hold a press conference in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office to oppose the reform plan.

The World Without Private Education Concerns stated, "Early enrollment at age 5 is inappropriate for children's cognitive and emotional development. Parents perceive the start of compulsory education as the beginning of serious learning, which may lead to an excessive private education craze with pre-learning starting from the infant and toddler stages to prepare for early enrollment." They added, "Currently, many parents have to quit their jobs when their children enter elementary school, so advancing elementary school enrollment to age 5 will only increase the burden on parents."

On the 29th of last month, the Ministry of Education announced in the new government’s work report that it will promote a school system reform to advance the elementary school starting age by one year from 2025. The Ministry is considering a phased expansion of the enrollment age by 25% each year over four years. In 2025, children born between January 2018 and April 2019 will enroll; in 2026, those born between April 2019 and June 2020; in 2027, those born between July 2020 and September 2021; and in 2028, those born between October 2021 and December 2022. The Ministry announced this without prior consultation with parents or coordination with education offices, causing widespread backlash.

Park Soon-ae, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, who announced the reform plan, is strongly committed to the policy. In an interview with YTN, when asked if the policy might be withdrawn if opposition grows strong, Park replied, "No." She said, "If mothers firmly say no, we will offer it as an option, but since it was made a policy in the work report, I hope this good policy benefits the nation and the future of children."

The Ministry plans to prepare a draft reform plan by the end of the year and hold public debates, hearings, and expert consultations before finalizing it through the National Education Committee. However, strong opposition suggests it will be difficult to proceed.

Parents express concerns about their children's school adaptation, potential exposure to bullying and school violence, and disadvantages in college entrance or employment competition. Since elementary school classes end around lunchtime and there is a significant care gap, this is a major worry for working parents.

A parent of a child born in 2019 said, "Even at playgrounds, age hierarchy is severe. Putting 7- and 8-year-olds together in one classroom to spend 12 years together is too harsh for 7-year-olds." They explained, "Children who have studied for two years in kindergarten and those who have studied for three years show significant developmental differences, and children with such experiences tend to feel intimidated. School violence could also become more severe in classrooms that include younger children."

A parent of children born in 2018 and 2019 said, "If children born in consecutive years enter the same grade, at home the older sibling is called 'noona' (older sister), but what should they be called at school?" They added, "It is hard to accept that siblings have to compete against each other in the college entrance exam." An elementary school parent said, "It seems like the intention is to graduate children faster because there is no one to earn money. The rationale of reducing educational disparity is unconvincing," and "The earlier children enter school, the more private education will intensify."

An elementary school teacher said, "Every year, children entering first grade show slower development in learning ability and emotional aspects compared to before, causing many related problems." They pointed out, "Many first-grade classes have nearly 30 students, and if enrollment is allowed up to age 5, the educational environment will worsen."

The Seoul Teachers' Union also issued a statement expressing shock that the Minister of Education and the President have no basic understanding of the curriculum due to the push for elementary school enrollment at age 5. They said, "The Nuri Curriculum and elementary education curriculum target different groups and have different curriculum composition directions. If the government is sincere about early childhood education, it should consider converting current early childhood education into compulsory education."

Experts view that if the government pushes ahead with this immature policy, social confusion is inevitable.

Professor Song Ki-chang of the Department of Education at Sookmyung Women's University said, "Issues like costs, employment, and college entrance will cause several years of confusion, so the Ministry of Education is likely to proceed by giving parents the choice." He added, "If teachers and facilities are increased to advance the enrollment age, there could be surplus issues after four years, so the plan is to proceed by offering choices. In such a case, in years without enrollment deferrals, children with age differences of up to 18 months to 2 years may attend classes together."

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