Students attend class at an elementary school in eastern Seoul's Gwangjin District, May 2. Joint Press Corps

Education ministry seeks to lower admission age to 5 from current 6

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government's plan to lower the age of entry to elementary school to five years old from the current six by as soon as 2025 is triggering hot debate among teachers, parents and civic groups.

During a policy briefing to President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday, Education Minister Park Soon-ae said her ministry seeks to lower the school-entry age to five and thereby allow children to start public education a year earlier, with an aim to reduce the burden of education expenses on parents.

The ministry also viewed that changing the school admission age could help tackle the labor force shortage amid the rapidly declining birthrate and aging population, as it would allow children to begin their working careers earlier after college graduation.

Yoon gave a nod to the proposal and ordered Park to start working on it as soon as possible.

The education authorities will launch a survey on 20,000 students and parents in September to gather opinions. If they reach a social consensus, school admission will be gradually expanded to five-year-old children by as early as 2025 with an aim to fully implement the new system by 2029.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, receives a policy briefing from Education Minister Park Soon-ae at the presidential office in Seoul, July 29. Courtesy of presidential office

If implemented, it would be the first reform in elementary school admission age in 76 years since the establishment of the Education Act in 1949. Under the law, children are currently enrolled in elementary school on March 1 following the year in which they have turned six.

More opposition than support

The proposal immediately became the center of fierce public debate. While those supporting the plan view that "saving one school year" may help the country address its labor shortage, opposition outweighs support among teachers.

An elementary teacher in her 30s surnamed Lee in southwestern Seoul's Yangcheon District said she does not understand what benefits a child can get from entering school at a younger age.

"From my experience, many first-graders (who are six years old) find it challenging to adapt to school life. Not only in terms of keeping up with classes, but teaching them involves toilet training and even guidance in eating lunch. It would be far more challenging for five-year-olds," she told The Korea Times.

"And before adopting the new age system, there are so many things to prepare such as revising the school curriculum and providing adequate training to teachers, which would require a lot of time and resources."

The Korean Federation of Teachers' Association, representing about 130,000 schoolteachers nationwide, condemned the government's decision, which "does not seem to consider the developmental characteristics of children in early childhood."

"Reforming the school admission age will require tremendous financial input to increase the number of teachers as well as necessary resources," it said in a statement. "Similar proposals had been made during the previous Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, but all fell through, only causing confusios in the process."

Students of Cheonggu Elementary School in central-eastern Seoul enjoy the start of summer vacation, July 15. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

Criticisms also came from preschool teachers.

"The government made the announcement abruptly without any discussions with people involved in the matter, such as parents and teachers, or conducting proper research about the policies," the National Association of Private Kindergarten said in a statement.

The association called it "absurd" to send five-year-old children to school, as they currently account for 40 percent to 50 percent of the total children attending kindergartens.

At online forums for mothers ― commonly known as "mom cafes" ― many expressed concerns that enrolling a child who is not ready for schooling would only make it tougher for the child to cope.

OECD countries

The ideal age to start school varies by country, but it is set at six in most OECD countries.

According to the OECD's Education at a Glance (EAG), as of 2019, in 26 countries among the 38 member states, children become eligible to start the first year of compulsory school at the age of six.

Students start school when they are seven years old in eight countries including Finland and Estonia, while some countries such as Ireland and the United Kingdom enroll four-year-old children in primary school.