Both Gwangju and Jeonnam Education Chiefs Raise Questions on 'Mandatory School Enrollment at Age 5' Proposal

Lee Jeong-seon, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education (left in the photo), and Kim Dae-jung, Superintendent of Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education (right in the photo).

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Both Lee Jeong-seon, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, and Kim Dae-jung, Superintendent of Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, expressed doubts about the government's plan to lower the school entry age by one year from 6 to 5 years old, allowing elementary school admission from age 5.

Lee Jeong-seon, Superintendent of Gwangju, stated on Facebook the day before, "More important than uniformly deciding at what age to admit students is how to overcome individual differences in early growth and development at the time of school entry."

He emphasized, "As always, students must be at the center of education," adding, "Education reform, creating new policies, and restructuring the school system should all be for the students. This means that individualized, tailored education for each student is important."

He also argued, "Ultimately, to reduce educational disparities, the question should be changed from 'At what age should students enter school?' to 'How can we minimize individual differences at the time of school entry?'" and "The answer to this lies in individualized, tailored education for each student."

In particular, he explained, "For example, children born in March are about 8 months more developed than those born in November. Students with faster early growth tend to lead activities," and "Students with rapid early physical development have advantages in physical, cognitive, and emotional development, and since these gaps widen as the grade level increases, reducing differences in early growth status at school entry is more important than anything else in minimizing educational disparities."

He added, "There are many other challenges to solve, but with a brief thought, I suggest implementing phased free education starting from age 5 and establishing a quality management system for daycare centers and private kindergartens," and "In the long term (though not easy), it would be good to promote integration of preschool education, linkage between kindergarten and elementary education, and free early childhood education."

Kim Dae-jung, Superintendent of Jeonnam, also holds the position that it is 'premature.'

He stated, "The frontline education field is not prepared to introduce the early admission system for 5-year-olds," and "In a situation where public education in kindergartens needs to be expanded, suddenly changing the education system with early admission will only increase confusion."

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