“Age-Four and Age-Seven Exams”: English-Kindergarten Level Tests to Draw Fines of Up to 3 Million Won

[Financial News] Starting in October, level tests (entrance exams) administered by so-called “English kindergartens” and similar institutions to select children or assign them to classes will be banned altogether. Hagwons that test preschool children in violation of the ban will face administrative fines of up to 3 million won. People who report illegal testing may also receive rewards.
The government held a State Council meeting on September 22 and reviewed and approved a partial amendment to the “Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons.” The amendment will take effect on October 1.
The measure was introduced to legally block level tests that have fueled excessive private-education competition from early childhood. Some language academies for young children have administered written and oral exams, as well as interviews, to determine admission or class placement by level. This trend became so intense that new terms such as “age-four exams” and “age-seven exams” emerged.
Under the amendment, all tests and evaluation activities aimed at recruiting preschool children or assigning them to classes by level will be prohibited. Written, oral, practical and interview-based exams will be banned, as will evaluations that rank children according to their abilities based on test results. All such practices will be subject to penalties.
The amendment also establishes strict sanctions to strengthen the system’s effectiveness. Hagwons caught administering entrance exams to preschool children will face an administrative fine of 1 million won for a first violation, 2 million won for a second violation and 3 million won for a third violation. The government will also be allowed to pay rewards, within the limits of its budget, to people who report hagwons conducting illegal exams.
Oversight of private tutoring and small tutoring centers will also be strengthened to prevent a balloon effect caused by the academy regulations. Starting in October, preschool children will also be covered by the law’s private-tutoring provisions. Anyone seeking to provide private lessons or instruction to preschool children must report to the relevant local education office.
However, limited diagnostic activities to assess a child’s learning after enrollment at a hagwon will be allowed as an exception. Such activities must receive the guardian’s prior consent and may be conducted only through observation or interviews, not in the form of an exam. Even in these cases, recording scores or rankings, or indicating pass or fail, will be strictly prohibited.
Choi Kyo-jin, Minister of Education, said, “With this amendment to the enforcement decree, we have laid the groundwork for curbing extreme private education for infants and young children, including the so-called age-four and age-seven exams, and for helping children grow up healthy.”  

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter