#7, The Five-Day School Week

Korea to Introduce 5-Day School Week

June 14th, 2011 20:48

The government will recommend that all primary and secondary schools adopt the five-day school week starting next year.

Currently, local schools rest every second and fourth Saturday in a month. 

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Tuesday that a pilot program will start at some schools in the second half this year as the new measure is likely to affect the pattern of family life greatly.

“The 40-hour working week is slated to start from July at all workplaces with more than five employees. There has been a growing demand for the five-day work week in a bid to foster a healthy leisure culture in which parents and children enjoy (time) together,” said Education Minister Lee Joo-ho in a news briefing on Tuesday.

With the adoption of the five-day school week, the number of school days will decrease from the current 205 to 190, the OECD average.

Existing Saturday classes ― most of them focused on arts and sports activities ― will be conducted during weekdays, while the vacation days would decrease by up to four days.

The ministry also decided to strengthen follow-up measures for the possible academic loss in case of children from low-income households or with double-income parents.

In an April survey by the Korean Federation of Teacher’s Association, 77.8 percent of the 2,323 parents and 87.9 percent of 2,442 students nationwide favored the full implementation of the five-day school week.

In a separate survey, 66.9 percent of the responding 2,298 teachers also agreed to the new measure.

“The measure is aimed at encouraging children to spend more time with family and do other creative activities. But in reality it’s very hard for parents to do such special activities every week,” said Choi Mi-sook, head of a school parent community Haksamo.

“After all, many parents would send their children to private academies during the weekend, while low-income parents would have no choice but to keep their children idle,” she said.

The Education Ministry plans to revise the related law by August to adjust the number of class days, while setting up a cooperative network of related government offices.

SOURCE:http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110614000861

Who are the winners from the implementation of the five-day school week?  Who are the losers?  Is the five-day school week good for Korea?

Optional: Does this change affect you?

-Teacher Lee