South Korea ends '7-year-old exam'

GD&TĐ - The '7-year-old exam' is raising concerns that the Korean education system is dominated by excessive competition...

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has called on the Ministry of Education to address the problem of early tutoring, notably the “7-year-old exam” held by private schools and prestigious academies (hagwon) for kindergarteners.

According to the committee, testing young children in subjects such as English, Mathematics and Programming before entering school violates children's basic rights, including the right to rest, play and comprehensive development. These are stipulated in the Korean Constitution as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In its call, the Human Rights Commission highlighted that the pressure to start learning too early is depriving young children of age-appropriate experiences. It recommended that a national survey of private early childhood education be conducted, the results made public, and stricter regulations be introduced for intensive curricula, especially foreign languages.

The survey found that more than 74% of kindergartens in Seoul’s Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa districts teach English, with 10 of them using elementary school curriculum for kindergarteners. Only one school firmly adopted a play-based education model.

The “7-year-old exam” is raising concerns that the Korean education system is dominated by excessive competition, depriving children of their right to develop naturally. The committee stressed the need to take immediate measures to protect the system to ensure that all children learn in a healthy and developmentally appropriate environment.

According to The Korea Herald

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/han-quoc-cham-dut-ky-thi-7-tuoi-post746130.html