South Korea’s elementary school students are under growing pressure to study beyond their regular curriculum at school, leading to the shortage of free time, a survey-based report showed Monday.
According to the report published by Child Fund Korea, the country’s young respondents tend to have 25.3 hours of spare time a week, with a third of them saying the spare time is not enough.
The crowded schedule is largely due to the private education programs they attend. Nearly 93 percent said that they take private lessons outside of school, such as going to private cram schools, practicing through workbooks at home and taking lessons with private tutors.
The report showed that the respondents spent an extra 11.4 hours studying a week excluding the official class hours at school.
The survey was conducted on 110 schoolchildren at elementary schools in Seoul, which is part of a student-led research project launched last year. With the help of professional researchers and human rights activists, 23 students aged 12 and 13 kicked off their own research on young students’ human right issues.
Kim Gwang-hyun, a 12-year-old student who participated in publishing the report, said that “students lack enough time to rest as they are told to do what they do not want to do.”
“Schools should reduce the number of examinations and homework, and give students the freedom of choice to freely participate in school-held contests,” Kim suggested in the report.
The survey said schoolchildren tend to sleep for an average of six hours and 43 minutes a day ― about one hour and 30 minutes less than the recommended sleep time of nine to 10 hours by the Korean Society of Sleep Medicine.
Some respondents said they feel stressed out due to hectic study plans and examinations. Other students expressed concerns about the negative reactions from parents concerning their school grades.
Kim Eun-jeong, chief of Child Fund Korea, said that the report illustrates the issues faced by elementary school children here while offering a chance for them to examine their status in terms of human rights.
Child Fund Korea plans to publish the final report in a booklet format and send out copies to children-related organizations by year-end.
By Kim Da-sol, Intern reporter ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
