Private preschools charge 14 times public rate

The average tuition fee at private kindergartens is 14 times higher than that of public preschools, according to a government survey.

The Ministry of Education on Sunday released a comprehensive survey of 8,559 preschools across the country regarding costs, financial status, rules and law violations.

The result showed that parents of children over age 5 attending private kindergartens pay 191,737 won ($173) per month on average, compared with 13,285 won for public ones.

For 3-year-olds, private preschools cost parents 191,352 per month while public ones cost them 7,832 won.

The monthly cost covers the basic fee and after-school programs.

In terms of regions, Seoul saw the highest monthly tuition of 271,468 won, followed by Incheon, Gyeonggi Province and Ulsan.

The most expensive preschool was Uchon Kindergarten in Seongbuk-gu, northeast Seoul, at 1 million won per month, leading to a yearly tuition nearly equal to college tuition.

The monthly education cost in Gangwon Province and North Chungcheong Province, on the other hand, was one-third that of Seoul, about 95,000 won.

Private kindergartens had an average 93 students, almost double that of public ones.

By Lee Hyun-jeong  (rene@heraldcorp.com)