National Education Commission Won't Seek Public Input on "3 p.m. Dismissal" for Lower-Grade Students

11 of 16 members opposed
More than 50,000 backed petition against the plan

A plan to extend regular class hours for lower-grade elementary school students so that they would leave school at 3 p.m. has been blocked at the National Education Commission’s public deliberation stage. Eleven of the commission’s 16 members opposed launching the process to gather public opinions.

Yonhap News Agency

On November 10, the commission held a plenary meeting at the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and decided not to proceed with gathering public opinions on the plan for lower-grade elementary school students to leave school at 3 p.m. The vote was 11 against and five in favor. The issue was brought before the commission after more than 50,000 people supported a petition opposing the plan, saying that extending class hours could increase students’ psychological burden.

In its preliminary review, the commission’s expert committee on public opinion gathering and mediation concluded that the key issues and policy direction had not been sufficiently clarified, and that related discussions should be organized before seeking public input. It also said further discussion was needed, given the significant public concern about gaps in childcare.

In early September, the commission held a policy forum on expanding instructional hours for lower-grade elementary school students. Teachers’ organizations opposed the idea, saying it sought to address gaps in childcare by extending regular class hours. At a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Education Committee last month, Commission Chair Cha Jeong-in said he took seriously teachers’ concerns and opposition. An expansion of instructional hours for lower-grade elementary school students was previously pursued by the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy in 2018, but the plan fell through.

On November 10, the commission also released the results of an online survey of public opinion on the direction of reforming the college admissions system. Of the 3,103 submissions received from August 14 to 28, “expanding CSAT-based admissions and adjusting school grades and other admissions criteria” was the most common response, with 792 submissions (25.5%). It was followed by “a college admissions system that does not change frequently,” with 508 submissions (16.4%), and “a simpler admissions system that eases the burden of private education,” with 412 (13.3%). About 60% of participants were in their 40s.

Among the 3,246 submissions on introducing short-answer and essay-based assessments for college admissions, the most common response was “It is hard to trust the fairness of assessments because they depend on graders’ subjectivity,” with 754 submissions (23.2%). The view that “schools should start by teaching reading and writing” received 708 submissions (21.8%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.