"Classes Replaced by Online Lectures: Do You Still Have to Pay the Same Tuition Fees?"

"Closed due to COVID-19, but 'Extension Only' Unilateral Notice Sparks Parents' Complaints
Small Academies Worry About Rent... Instructors Suffer Unpaid Hardships"

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, the government has postponed the start of the new semester for elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide by two more weeks. On the 3rd, a private academy in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, is closed./Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] "A 100-minute class costs about 70,000 to 80,000 won each, but they switched to online lectures and are still charging the same tuition."

"We originally paid the tuition for 현강 (in-person classes), not intending to take 인강 (internet lectures). Besides, the writing on the blackboard is hard to see in online lectures..."

As many academies have closed following schools, conflicts between parents and academies over tuition fees are deepening. From the parents' perspective, dissatisfaction is growing because each academy has different refund policies after replacing in-person classes with online lectures. Academies are also struggling with losses from rent during closures and additional costs for producing online lectures.

A middle school parent in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul said, "We paid all the 'spring break special class fees' at the end of last year, but now they say no refunds are possible and only extensions are allowed. Once school starts, it will be hard to attend classes due to other studies, but they stubbornly insist it's the 'academy policy,' which is really frustrating."

A high school parent in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu also said, "The academy contacted us to choose whether to attend in-person or online lectures. It's surprising they want to operate normally during this situation, but charging full tuition for online lectures without any discount seems like excessive commercialism."

According to parents, each academy has set its own refund policy and many have unilaterally notified parents. Some academies offer partial refunds for switching to online lectures, while others notify parents that fees will be extended to next month's classes. Although academy closures follow government recommendations, there are no separate 'refund regulations' for private academies.

Academies also have their reasons. A representative from one academy said, "Some parents requested closure, but some students still wanted to attend classes, so we hurriedly procured filming equipment to prepare online lectures. Compared to large academies with well-established online systems, the video quality is lower and we haven't even considered adding subtitles."

Another representative from an entrance exam academy said, "After the COVID-19 outbreak, a famous math instructor earning tens of billions annually released his lectures for free, causing other paid instructors to be criticized. Well-known instructors are doing okay, but many instructors at small-scale academies are effectively unpaid during closures, which is a significant personal blow."

The Korea Academy Federation, with over 80,000 member academies nationwide, said many academies decided to close following government policy but are suffering huge losses from office rent and instructor salaries. In a statement on the 4th, the federation demanded, "Based on last year's income reported to the National Tax Service, the government should promise to compensate half of the losses academies incurred due to closures."