Review of '3 PM Dismissal for Lower Grades' Sparks Backlash as 'Child Abuse'

As the Presidential National Education Commission is reportedly reviewing plans to extend school hours for lower-grade elementary students, teachers' unions are pushing back, claiming the move shifts childcare responsibilities onto schools.

The commission plans to soon gather public opinion on a proposal to extend educational hours, which would push the dismissal time for first and second graders from around 1 PM to 3 PM.

The expansion of school hours for early elementary students was previously pursued by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy in 2018, but fell through after sparking controversy.

The Elementary School Teachers' Union pointed out regarding the extension of lower-grade dismissal times today (Sept. 1), "Whether to expand educational hours should be reviewed cautiously based on classes and breaks suited to the developmental stages of lower graders, rather than focusing on how long to keep them in school."

The union also released survey results showing that a significant portion of lower-grade elementary students are negative about extending dismissal times.

On August 26 and 27, first and second-grade students nationwide were asked, "How would you feel if you had classes until the 6th or 7th period with your homeroom teacher and went home at 3 PM?"

Among the respondents, 65.5% answered, "It feels like we would have classes for too long, making me too exhausted and tired."

Only 3.7% responded, "It seems like it would be fine to study more in the classroom."

A total of 29,136 students participated in this survey, including 12,024 first graders and 17,112 second graders from 17 cities and provinces nationwide.


Kang Seok-jo, chairperson of the Elementary School Teachers' Union, said, "First and second-grade students want to play and spend time with their families after school ends," adding, "The National Education Commission must heavily weigh concerns regarding the developmental characteristics of lower graders and student fatigue in future discussions."

The Busan Teachers' Union also issued a statement yesterday (Aug. 31), criticizing, "Keeping lower-grade elementary students bound to school under the guise of a 'curriculum' is tantamount to state-level child abuse," and adding, "This discussion has started merely out of administrative necessity to fill childcare gaps, rather than educational needs for student growth."

It further noted, "The fundamental solution to childcare gaps is creating an environment where parents can directly raise their children," and "Although companies and society should find common ground for this, the government is turning a blind eye to the fundamental problem and unilaterally passing the responsibility onto schools."

Within the education community, there are also widespread concerns that extending dismissal times for first and second graders is unreasonable when school conditions, such as teacher recruitment, are not properly in place.

Jang Seung-hyuk, spokesperson for the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, criticized, "The 3 PM dismissal system for lower graders involves the complete reorganization of the curriculum, which must be accompanied by large-scale teacher recruitment," and "While the government has put forward a plan to cut local education finance, it has completely failed to present a blueprint on how to create the conditions necessary for expanding regular school hours."

Last month, as the government decided to change the local education finance grant system from an automatic allocation method of 20.79% of domestic tax to a formula reflecting economic growth and changes in the school-age population, concerns were raised within the education community that investment in elementary, middle, and high schools could shrink.

(Photo provided by the Elementary School Teachers' Union, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.