Will the "Age 7 Entrance Exam" Disappear... Passed by Education Committee's Bill Subcommittee

Early Private Education Known as the "Age 7 Entrance Exam"
Minister of Education Points Out: "Isn't This a Violation of Human Rights?"

A bill prohibiting entrance exams for early childhood English academies, which sparked controversy over the so-called "age 7 entrance exam," has passed the Education Committee's Subcommittee on Bill Examination at the National Assembly.

According to the National Assembly on December 8, the Education Committee held a subcommittee meeting and processed the amendment to the Private Education Act through bipartisan agreement. The main focus of this bill is to ban entrance exams for early childhood English academies, commonly referred to as the "age 4·7 entrance exam."

The amendment newly stipulates a ban on selection tests that determine acceptance or rejection when recruiting children from age 3 until entry into elementary school at academies, tutoring centers, and private tutors. The original draft of the amendment also included a provision prohibiting tests or assessments for level placement after admission, but this provision was excluded in the revised version that passed the subcommittee.

Previously, in August, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea stated that there is a need to establish measures to address extreme forms of early private education, such as the "age 7 entrance exam." The Commission emphasized that extreme forms of early private education, such as the "age 7 entrance exam" that originated in highly competitive educational districts like the three Gangnam districts in Seoul, pose serious problems for children's overall human rights. It stressed that such practices clearly violate children's rights to rest, leisure, play, and recreational activities.

Choi Gyojin, Minister of Education, also pointed out in October regarding the overheated private education market that "we must consider whether this constitutes a violation of children's human rights."

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