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| Elementary school pupils are on their way to school. / Yonhap |
By Oh Young-jin
More than half of people support a ban on extra-curricular English lessons for first and second graders.
A survey by Realmeter showed 51.2 percent of 1,003 adults polled last week backed the ban, while 43.4 percent objected. More than 5 percent said they had no opinion.
The survey was commissioned by a key nonprofit education-related organization that opposes private tutoring.
The ban came amid a division in public opinion: against it for fanning private lessons and worsening the "English divide"; and for it because of the need to prepare low graders for high-level English education before they enter the higher grades.
Critics raised the issue with the education ministry, which has promised to provide efficient and effective English lessons for third graders and above. but failed to address the concern over rising private education.
Regarding regulating private English lessons for first and second graders, those in favor reached 56.2 percent, while 38.6 percent opposed it.
About two thirds supported regulating English lessons for pre-schoolers at private institutes.
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