South Korean Education Minister Lee Ju-ho believes the culture of extra tutoring needs to be eradicated. (Photo: KOREA TIMES)
In South Korea, attending prestigious universities not only provides students with numerous job opportunities at large corporations and high salaries, but also brings pride to themselves and their families. Therefore, in South Korea, every correct or incorrect answer on a university entrance exam can determine the fate of an entire life. It's worth noting that the questions on these exams are often extremely challenging, and without extra tutoring, students in South Korea would be unable to answer them. Consequently, the rate of students attending tutoring classes in South Korea is very high.
According to the latest statistics from the South Korean Ministry of Education, in 2022, 78.3% of high school students in South Korea attended tutoring classes, and Korean parents spent nearly $20 billion USD on exam preparation. This figure is almost equal to the GDP of countries like Haiti ($21 billion USD) and Iceland ($25 billion USD). Also in 2022, the average elementary, middle, and high school student spent $311 USD per month on tutoring, the highest figure since data on tutoring began being recorded in 2007. This situation places significant pressure on families who cannot afford it. Experts believe this system perpetuates educational inequality. Poorer families tend to allocate a higher percentage of their income to their children's education compared to wealthier households.
The race for university admission not only drains parents' wallets but also severely impacts students. In South Korea, students study at least 18 hours a day. They wake up at 6 am, attend school all day, and then head straight to tutoring centers after school. Many students cannot cope with this pressure, leading to South Korea being one of the countries with the highest youth suicide rates in the world . A 2022 survey by the South Korean government showed that among nearly 60,000 middle and high school students in South Korea, almost a quarter of male students and a third of female students had experienced depression. In a 2021 report, nearly half of South Korean teenagers aged 13-18 expressed that academics were their biggest worry.
Researchers, policymakers, teachers, and even parents have criticized and argued that the path to university creates many problems, not only educational inequality and mental health issues among teenagers, but also a sharp decline in South Korea's birth rate. South Korea consistently ranks among the countries with the highest costs of raising children from infancy to 18 years old in the world, largely due to education costs. Last year, South Korea's birth rate fell to a record low of 0.78, much lower than Japan (1.3), the country with the world's oldest population, and far below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population.
Hoping to address some of these issues, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho announced at a recent press conference that he will eliminate the tricky, often referred to as "killer questions," from the university entrance exam. The South Korean Ministry of Education also released sample questions drawn from previous tests to illustrate the problems that will be removed from future exams.
Mr. Lee explained that the “killer question” is sometimes not included in the public school curriculum, leading to unfairness for students who don’t attend extra classes. “Extra classes are a personal choice, but many feel compelled to attend them to overcome the fierce competition in the university entrance exam. We want to break the vicious cycle of extra classes, which increases the burden on parents and erodes educational equity, and we will provide more tutoring and extracurricular programs in public schools,” Mr. Lee said.
To achieve this goal, South Korea will establish a hotline to receive reports of violations by tutoring centers. Minister Lee announced that the government will provide more tutoring and extracurricular programs in public schools.
THAI AN
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