The Ministry of Education has announced that it will effectively withdraw the policy of lowering the elementary school entrance age.
Deputy Minister of Education Jang Sang-yoon answered a question related to the '5-year-old admission' policy in the work report of the National Assembly Education Committee today (9th), "I can't say that it will be scrapped at this point, no longer going forward, but it has become difficult to implement realistically. I'm making a decision," he said.
In effect, it is a statement of policy abolition policy.
Vice Minister Jang explained, "The plan to lower the elementary school age was reported as a suggestion through a business report.
“The purpose of the policy itself is a means of strengthening the national responsibility for education and care,” he said.
Deputy Minister Jang added, "I will open all possibilities and listen to the opinions of the public and experts on various ways to achieve the purpose of strengthening the national responsibility for education."
Previously, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Park Soon-ae sparked controversy when he announced that he had reported a plan to lower the elementary school entrance age to 5 in a presidential business report on the 29th of last month.
As protests spread, former Deputy Prime Minister Park held a parent-teacher conference on the 2nd of this month and said, "Policies that the people do not want can be discarded."
But the next day, Deputy Minister Jang said, "To view the 5-year-old admission policy as abolition is to go ahead."
In particular, as the Ministry of Education announced that it would continue to publicize it as scheduled until yesterday, the day of former Deputy Prime Minister Park's resignation, voices calling for an 'immediate abolition' were continued, saying that there is no need for further public debate as there is a clear objection from the public in the political and educational circles.