Recently, the Korean government has decided to crack down on hagwons (local cram schools) that are "overcharging" students. Apparently, the Ministry of Education has developed a system to calculate "appropriate" fees using data on teacher salaries, revenue, and other expenditures.
To be honest, I don't understand why the Ministry of Education has any jurisdiction or right to control private education. This is why it's called private education and not public. Harvard University currently charges $47,215 a year. Should the U.S. Department of Education force Harvard to charge "appropriate" fees? I guarantee you if the enrollment at Harvard decreased, the university would lower tuition fees.
This is the same with hagwons. If the fees become so high that students stop attending, they will naturally lower the tuition. In addition, smart hagwon owners may decide to lower fees to wipe out the competition. This is the free market at work.
If the government decided to close all hagwons, students would go overseas in droves. In addition, cunning hagwon owners would set up shop in nearby countries where the Korean government has no control. In fact, I met a Korean hagwon owner in the Philippines. This is capitalism at work.
When public schools fail to satisfy the educational needs and requirements of students, private schools will rise. Businesses always emerge to fullfill a need. This year, the Korean government will spend 38.7 trillion won on education. Wow! (The U.S. spent 56 trillion won.) Perhaps the Ministry of Education should try to find ways to improve public education, spending, and management. Then, there would be no reason for hagwons to exist.
What do you think?
1 comment:
I thought about my high school years while I was reading it. I don't know how much the Ministry of Education will crack down on Hagwons this time, but I don't think it will really work as my experiences before. Hagwon owners would find other ways to keep their business and many students or parents agree with their suggestions. The Ministry of Education really needs a firm solution that makes us trust them, and we should change our thinking that private education is better as well..
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