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| A group of civic activists stages a rally in Seoul, Monday, calling for the government to withdraw a plan to move up the elementary school entry age by one year to 5 starting as early as 2025. Yonhap |
President Yoon Suk-yeol has ordered the education ministry to swiftly put to public debate the government's proposal to lower the elementary school starting age by one year to 5, an official said Tuesday.
Yoon also instructed the ministry to play a role in facilitating bipartisan discussions about the plan in the National Assembly because the plan is subject to parliamentary approval, said senior presidential secretary for social affairs Ahn Sang-hoon.
"Even if necessary reforms are needed, public discussion and deliberation are needed due to conflicts of interest among stakeholders, so the Ministry of Education should quickly push for public discussion and act as a facilitator for bipartisan discussion in the National Assembly," Yoon told Ahn.
The remarks are seen as a step backward after many teachers and parents have been voicing objections to the plan that they say could further deepen already fierce competition for grades and put the burden of schooling on the intellectually unprepared 5-year-olds.
Teachers and parents also point out the plan could put many students at competitive disadvantages, as the 5- and 6-year-olds who would start school at the same time in the transition period would have to compete more for college admissions and job opportunities.
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| Ahn Sang-hoon, the senior presidential secretary for social affairs, speaks during a press conference at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday, about the government's proposal to lower the elementary school starting age to 5. Yonhap |
"It is also up to the education ministry to find policy solutions to various concerns," Ahn told reporters.
Through the plan, the government seeks to take on more child care for young children against the backdrop of low birthrates, close education gaps, and eventually help school graduates land jobs and start their careers earlier than now. (Yonhap)
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