Monthly fees for English language academies targeting preschoolers have surpassed an average of 1.2 million won. (Image courtesy of PxHere/CCL)
SEOUL, Mar. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – An analysis by a South Korean lawmaker has revealed that monthly fees for English language academies targeting preschoolers have surpassed an average of 1.2 million won, amid record high private education spending across all school levels last year.
Rep. Kang Deuk-gu of the Democratic Party stated on March 25 that data provided by the Education Ministry showed the combined average tuition and other fees at so-called “English kindergartens” stood at 1.21 million won as of December 2023.
The average tuition fee was 1.11 million won, with other expenses averaging 101,000 won per month.
Regionally, the costs were highest in Sejong at 1.49 million won, followed by Incheon at 1.43 million won, Seoul at 1.42 million won, and South Chungcheong Province at 1.37 million won.
The number of English academies catering to preschoolers has been increasing steadily, growing from 615 in 2019 to over 800 in 2022 and reaching 842 last year.
In 2023, special inspections conducted by education offices across 17 provinces and cities uncovered violations at 303 of these English kindergartens, resulting in 522 violation cases. Fines were levied in 85 instances.
The most common infraction was the improper display of academy names, including deceptive online advertising, with 67 cases. This was followed by overcharging tuition fees, failure to register changes, non-refund of fees, and lack of receipts (63 cases), failure to report hiring and firing of instructors (53 cases), and improper posting of tuition fees (43 cases).
“Despite the declining school-age population, the market for early childhood English education is becoming increasingly overheated, with top academies offering ‘level tests’ for prospective first-graders being dubbed the ’7-year-old entrance exam,’” Rep. Kang stated.
“The government must diagnose the root causes driving dependence on private education and fundamentally reform the college admission system to alleviate private education costs.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
