▲ Policy forum on expanding education hours and enhancing the quality of education for lower-grade elementary students
As the Presidential National Education Commission reviews a plan to extend the dismissal time for first and second-grade elementary school students to 3 PM, a public debate on expanding instructional hours for lower-grade students was held at the National Assembly today (3rd).
During the debate, arguments clashed between those claiming that instructional hours should be increased to reduce childcare gaps and private education burdens, and counterarguments asserting that it would only increase the burden on young students.
Hwang In-hyuk and Sung Moon-joo, associate research fellows at the National Assembly Research Service, suggested, "It is necessary to gradually expand the instructional hours of first and second-grade elementary school students to the level of the OECD average."
They pointed out that the annual instructional hours in South Korean elementary schools are about 190 hours fewer than the OECD average of 845 hours.
They also cited the limitations parents face in bridging childcare gaps through parental leave and the substantial cost of private education for first and second graders as grounds for expanding instructional hours.
Lee Hee-hyun, head of the Student and Parent Research Division at the Korean Educational Development Institute, presented conditions for expanding lower-grade instructional hours, including the deployment of teachers without increasing teacher workload and the separation of after-school and childcare responsibilities from regular education.
On the other hand, Kim Sun, vice president of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, emphasized, "When we asked lower-grade teachers in the field, the most common response was that 'even now, first-graders struggle with five-period days,'" noting that the first year of elementary school is a special period during which concentration maintenance, emotional regulation, and peer conflict resolution continue to develop.
She further argued, "Before increasing instructional hours, the proper procedure is to check and supplement whether existing systems—such as Neulbom Schools, after-school programs, and local childcare systems—are functioning properly."
Park So-young, policy director at the Teachers' Union of Korea, rebutted, "OECD statistics exclude countries with unusually short instructional hours such as Finland and Sweden, and in countries with four-year elementary schools like Germany and Austria, secondary education hours for 10- to 11-year-olds were mixed into elementary statistics."
She urged, "Stop the trick of passing the burden onto the expansion of instructional hours immediately."
Teacher organizations, including the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, also held a picket protest in front of the main gate of the National Assembly opposing the expansion of instructional hours for lower-grade elementary students.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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