Minister Choi Kyo-jin of the Education Ministry said on the 14th that the government will root out English academies that encourage private education for infants and toddlers.
At the National Assembly Education Committee's audit that day, Minister Choi answered a question from Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said, "The Education Ministry's (English academy) investigation results are different from reality," by noting, "I belatedly learned that tests similar to a 'level test' for (English academy) admission are being conducted under various pretexts such as class grouping, and I will work to eradicate them."
The Education Ministry recently announced that it conducted a full count of 728 English academies commonly referred to as "English kindergartens," finding that 23 conduct level tests. Of these, three require tests for admission, while the rest administer tests to divide classes.
Regarding this, lawmaker Jin Sun-mi said, "At a well-known franchise academy with some 90 branches nationwide, 67 locations are promoting their own entrance exam, even giving it a name," adding, "At one academy, because the name level test could be misunderstood, they changed the name to CMC (Classone Matching Check) and are still conducting the test in reality."
At the same audit, National Education Commission Chairperson Cha Jeong-in, when asked by Jin Sun-mi that "English kindergartens are administering level tests, so-called the '4-year-old state exam,' causing a major social problem," said, "I think it is time for government-level regulation to be actively discussed, not only to regulate academies that conduct level tests but also regarding severe forms of early private education."
Cha also said regarding regulation of private education for infants and toddlers, "We can no longer delay active (regulatory) discussions."