Private Education Expenses Exceed '27 Trillion', Setting New Record... Elementary Students Account for the Most

Total Private Education Expenses for Elementary Students 12.4 Trillion Won
Teachers' Union: "Reform College Admission System to Normalize Public Education"

Contrary to the government's measures to reduce private education expenses, the total private education costs for elementary, middle, and high school students exceeded 27 trillion won last year, setting a record high for the third consecutive year. Teacher organizations and civic groups raised their voices in criticism, calling for a revision of the government's education policies.

EBS CSAT-linked textbooks placed in a bookstore
Photo by Yonhap News

According to the '2023 Private Education Expense Survey Results' released on the 14th by the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea, the total private education expenses nationwide for elementary, middle, and high school students last year amounted to 27.1 trillion won, a 4.5% increase compared to the previous year (26 trillion won). Earlier, the Ministry of Education had announced in the '2024 Performance Plan' submitted to the National Assembly last year that it aimed to reduce private education expenses for 2023 to 24.2 trillion won, a 6.9% decrease from the previous year, but it failed to meet this target.

Although the number of surveyed students decreased by 70,000 (1.3%) from 5.28 million to 5.21 million during this period, the total private education expenses actually increased. The total private education expenses recorded 23.4 trillion won in 2021, 26 trillion won in 2022, and broke the record for the third consecutive year.

The increase in private education expenses for high school students is also notable. The total private education expenses were 12.4 trillion won for elementary schools, 7.2 trillion won for middle schools, and 7.5 trillion won for high schools. The increase rate for high schools was 8.2%, the highest since 2016 (8.7%), alongside 4.3% for elementary schools and 1.0% for middle schools. The per-student private education expenses were 398,000 won (6.8% increase) for elementary schools, 449,000 won (2.6% increase) for middle schools, and 491,000 won (6.9% increase) for high schools, with the highest per-student increase rate among high school students. This rise is steeper than last year's inflation rate of 3.6%.

On the afternoon of the 14th, an education fee notice was posted at the entrance of an academy in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The private education expenses surveyed this time exclude costs for after-school programs, Korean Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) textbooks, language study abroad expenses, etc., so the actual burden felt by households may be higher than the survey figures.

The education sector believes that the sudden announcement in June last year, five months before the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), of the 'exclusion of killer questions' policy triggered anxiety among examinees and parents, influencing the increase in private education expenses.

The demand for private education itself also increased significantly. The proportion of students receiving private education rose by 0.2 percentage points from the previous year to 78.5%. The time students spend on academy classes, private tutoring, and online lectures increased by 0.1 hours to 7.3 hours per week compared to the previous year.

In particular, private education spending in high schools increased noticeably. The average monthly private education cost for all high school students was 491,000 won, a 6.9% increase from a year earlier. For high school students who actually receive private education, the average monthly private education expense was 740,000 won, up 6.1% from the previous year.

"We must resolve the competition-focused entrance exam education"

In front of an academy in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, a white sticker is placed over the spot where the word 'Killer' was written among the advertising phrases related to the class content.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The teachers' union issued a statement on the day, saying, "Educational reform to strengthen public education is urgent," and argued that "a predictable entrance exam system should be implemented through the firm operation of the university entrance exam announcement system."

The teachers' union added, "With rapid changes in university entrance exam situations such as the increase in medical school admissions, the possibility of private education expenses rising this year is very high," emphasizing, "To fundamentally solve the private education expense problem, educational reform to eliminate competition-focused entrance exam education is necessary."

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union said, "As a result of the government's futile attempts to crack down on the 'private education cartel,' private education expenses have again set a record high," and stated, "The government should shift its policy to resolving entrance exam competition and dismantling university hierarchies."

The civic group Society for the Elimination of Private Education Concerns (Sageokse) called for fundamental countermeasures. Sageokse argued, "We must eliminate factors that induce private education by promoting the phased introduction of absolute evaluation after the 2029 academic year, thoroughly operating the re-designation evaluation of autonomous private high schools, and strengthening supervision against violations of the establishment purpose of autonomous private high schools." Kim Min-jung, spokesperson for the Green Justice Party, criticized, "The increase in private education expenses last year was due to the president's sudden remarks on excluding 'killer questions' (extremely difficult questions)."

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