The government hopes to better integrate children from disadvantaged families but unions fear the negative effects on certain children.
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The strong criticisms issued in South Korea against the proposal to advance by one year, from 6 to 5 years, the age of entry into primary school, arouses an uproar in the country. President Yoon Seok-Youl has now had an explosive situation since the announcement on July 29 of this project. The Minister of Education, M park Soon-Ae sees it as a way to “guarantee a sure and quality education by integrating children into public education at an early stage”.
It is a question of specifically targeting children from disadvantaged families, the public sector being deemed able to offer them real support. The objective is also to allow young people to arrive earlier on the labor market and thus fight against the labor problems caused by a collapse of the birth rate. Seduced by the idea, the conservative president, Yoon Seok-Youl, asked for his “quick implementation”. M me park would like to apply it in steps, from the start of the 2025 school year.
But the proposal of M me park is mobilizing all the teaching unions against it, the Korean Federation of Teacher Associations (KFTA) to the Progressive Syndicate Korean teachers (KTU). Thirty-six organizational organizations have launched petitions and organized a demonstration, the 1 August, before the presidency in Seoul: parents and teachers worried about the risks of such a measure for the development of children. “Requiring the entry into primary at 5 years is inappropriate given the level of cognitive and emotional development of the little ones. This could also have negative side effects, with children confronted earlier with strong competition for entry to University and in private education, “said unions in a letter, which was prevented. For these organizations, 5 -year -old children must be able to play, run and develop rather than spend their days sitting in a classroom. 2> “lack of sensitivity”
The proposal also dissatisfies companies in the powerful private education sector. Managers of private crèches are worried about their income because 5 -year -old children represent 40 to 50 % of their “customers”. At the political level, the measure requires modifying the Education Act, unchanged since its adoption in 1949. However, criticisms are already fused in the progressive ranks, the majority in the National Assembly. “The country already allows students to enter elementary school a year earlier. But the number of 5 -year -old children entered primary school in 2021 did not exceed 537, against 9,707 in 2009,” reacted the party of justice.