Schools start five-day week; some unprepared

Most pupils stay home as schools lack activities, extra-curricular programs


Most schools nationwide started a five-day school week the first week of March in line with the 40-hour work week measure that was expanded in July.

More than 99 percent of elementary and secondary schools will no longer have classes on Saturdays, according to the Education Ministry.

Some schools have replaced classes on every other Saturday with arts and sports activities and field trips, but other schools have not introduced such programs.

Local schools had previously been closed every second and fourth Saturday of the month.

Seoul-based Dangsan Middle School and Kwangmun Middle School in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province were two schools with active weekend activities. They were visited Saturday by the Education Minister Lee Ju-ho and Vice Minister Lee Sang-jin, respectively.

Dangsan Middle School, popular for its sports activities, has designated Saturdays “Saturday Sports Day” when various sports clubs, including soccer, basketball, hold their activities

“Students show great enthusiasm for sports programs,” said a Dangsan Middle School teacher, asking the minister for more government support for the programs.

About 220 students out of the total 1,000 students at Kwangmun Middle School participated in Saturday programs which include sports, reading, cooking, yoga and even b-boy dance lessons.

A parent whose child attends Kwangmun Middle School asked the school to pay extra attention to underprivileged students so that they can spend their Saturdays at school.

Experts have raised concerns for underprivileged students who could suffer from the lack of Saturday classes.

“Students now have more free time to do what they want, but those from low-income families (whose parents both work on Saturdays) might not benefit from the five-day school week,” said a director of a public after-school center, who remained anonymous, citing a lack of both programs and civic centers that will take care of them.

She said the center did not open on Saturdays, but even with public support to run the center on Saturday, it would be hard to make ends meet.

According to the Education Ministry, 618,251 children participated in the Saturday programs on March 3, accounting for 8.8 percent of all total primary and secondary pupils.

The ministry said that most students did not attend the weekend programs because of a lack of promotion and preparation at most schools.

They are expected to launch the Saturday program next week, according to the Education Ministry.

On the other hand, upper grade students seemed happy about having Saturday off because they can take more private tutoring classes.

A parent whose child is a high school senior looked forward to the five-day school week because her child would be less burdened by having to take all her prep school classes on Sundays.

“Hagwon (prep schools) are also rescheduling their weekend classes in accordance with the implementation of the five-day school week,” she said.

According to an official of a hagwon in Gangnam, demand for weekend classes has doubled since the government announced the implementation of the five-day school week.

Experts warned that the five-day school week may worsen the disparity between students from well-off families and those from low-income families.

“For low-income families, the five-day school week may reduce their income, but increase spending as they have to take care of their children on Saturdays. It’s possible that the new policy may widen the disparities between wealthy and underprivileged students,” said professor Lee Eun-kyung of the Teenager Guidance Department at Myongi University.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)