Kindergarten mass closures
According to data from the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 31,099 kindergartens in the country as of August, a decrease of 9,139 facilities compared to 2017.
“Most of the private daycare centers and kindergartens with about 20 students have closed. The main reason is that the low birth rate has affected all aspects of life,” said Chi Sung Ae, a former superintendent. Director of the Korean Association of Early Childhood Education said.
Accordingly, the number of children of preschool age decreased by 27.3%, from 1.45 million in 2017 to 1.05 million in August this year.
Gyeonggi Province is the locality with the largest number of kindergartens closed with 2,330 establishments shutting down over the same period, while the number of kindergarten children decreased by 75,794 children. Next is Seoul with similar numbers at 1,477 and 71,528.
The kindergarten is closed because there are no students – Photo: Yonhap
“The capital area has the most childcare centers, so it also recorded the highest number of closures. Gyeonggi Province was especially hard hit because many couples settled here after getting married,” Kim Young Sook, of the Korean Education and Care Association.
In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic is also one of the reasons why more and more kindergartens are disappearing in the country of ginseng. Most parents do not bring their children to the care center for fear of catching the virus. In 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak, about 3,237 daycare facilities had to close.
Birth rate drops to record
On October 26, the Korea Statistics Office (KOSTAT) released data showing that the number of babies born in the country in August was at a record low, in contrast to the high number of deaths unprecedented, in the context of rapid population aging and the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to KOSTAT, a total of 21,758 babies were born in South Korea in August this year, down 2.4% from the same period last year. This is the lowest level recorded in any August since the agency began collecting relevant data in 1981. Even so, this is still higher than the 20,441 babies born in July of this year.
South Korea’s birth rate has been falling for a long time as many young people delay or don’t get married and have children amid an economic slowdown, high housing prices, and changes in social norms about marriage.
The low birth rate makes kindergartens without children – Photo: KBS
Last year, South Korea broke its own record for the world’s lowest birth rate. The total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of children a woman gives birth over a lifetime – has fallen from 0.84 in 2020 to 0.81 in 2021. Last year was also the fourth year in a row Korea’s TFR is below 1.
In contrast, the rapid population aging and the number of deaths from Covid-19 caused the number of deaths in August in South Korea to increase to a record high, with a total of 30,001 people, an increase of 15.8% compared to the previous month’s same period last year.
Worried that teachers will lose their jobs because they send children to primary school from grade 5
During a policy meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol on July 29, South Korean Education Minister Park Soon-ae proposed reducing the primary school age to five and allowing children to go to school earlier in the year. This amendment plan will be phased in over a four-year period, starting from 2025.
The Ministry of Education explained the proposal to reduce the burden of learning costs for parents. Changing the age of enrollment can solve the shortage of labor resources in the context of a declining birth rate and a rapidly growing aging population. Thus, in the future, Korean teenagers will go to work earlier after graduating from university.
Korea wants to let 5-year-olds enter primary school – Photo: Korea Times
President Yoon approved the proposal and asked the Ministry of Education to push for reforms “immediately”.
However, this proposal has generated a lot of controversies. According to KBS, there are objections from public kindergartens, asking the Government to withdraw this option, saying that children will not be able to receive development-appropriate educational incentives when they are only 5 years old. This also entails many serious social problems such as closing of kindergartens, and teachers losing their jobs.
Among teachers and experts, there are also many concerns that lowering the age of admission to 5 years is not suitable for the development of preschool children, is detrimental to children when taking entrance exams, and has problems with applying for admission.
The Ministry of Education will conduct a survey of the people’s opinions on the above option, plan to develop a plan next year, and then pilot each Department of Education in the provinces and cities in 2024.
Source: CafeF
Source: Vietnam Insider