Kang Deuk-gu: "Survey of 650,000 people shows 94.7% oppose 'entry at age 5'... Minister Park Soon-ae must take responsibility and resign"

"An Overwhelming Majority Opposes... Will Cause Side Effects by Advancing the Private Education Market by One Year"

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Joon-yi] A survey conducted on 650,000 education stakeholders regarding the 'Revised School System Plan for Early Elementary School Enrollment at Age 5,' which lowers the elementary school entrance age to 5 years old, revealed that more than 9 out of 10 respondents oppose the plan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to a press conference held on the 8th at the National Assembly Communication Office by Kang Deuk-gu, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (serving on the Education Committee), his office commissioned the Education Policy Design Institute to survey a total of 652,760 students, parents, and school staff from the 1st to the 7th of this month regarding the 'Lowering of the elementary school entrance age to 5.' The results showed that 94.7% responded that they 'do not agree with the policy.'

Among the respondents, 65.2% were parents, 17.4% were school staff, 10.2% were middle and high school students, 4.2% were citizens, 2.1% were elementary students, and 0.9% were university students. (The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.)

Regarding the legitimacy of the policy implementation process, 94.4% of respondents answered that it was 'not legitimate.'

Furthermore, 94.2% opposed the plan to increase enrollment by dividing the 2018 to 2022 birth cohorts into 25% increments.

On the other hand, when asked whether the policy to lower the elementary school entrance age to 5 should be reconsidered by reflecting the opinions of parents, teachers, and other stakeholders, 91.8% agreed.

Kang’s office emphasized that, based on a comprehensive analysis of the survey results, opposition to lowering the elementary school entrance age to 5 represents the majority opinion of the public.

Kang stated, "According to the government's school system reform scenario, children born in 2018 (age 6), who are scheduled to enter elementary school in 2025, and those born between January and March 2019 will attend elementary school together." He pointed out, "Children are already struggling due to reduced outdoor activities caused by COVID-19, decreased opportunities for development, and reduced language exposure and development due to mask-wearing. The early enrollment policy could further widen the gap and increase their suffering." He also expressed concerns that "this could lead to the side effect of accelerating the private education market by one year."

He added, "Engaging in a public debate process over a policy opposed by an overwhelming majority of the public is a waste of time, and the damage will fall on the education field and the children." He urged, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration should withdraw this highly opposed and concerning policy immediately, and Minister Park Soon-ae should take responsibility and resign."

Previously, from the 1st to the 3rd, Kang conducted the same survey targeting 131,000 school staff, students, and parents nationwide, which also showed that 97.9% of respondents did not agree with this policy.