|
As Koreans studying overseas return home for their summer vacation, illegal private tuition for homecoming students is running rampant here. Some of the crammers offer SAT courses costing more than W10 million (US$1=W928) for 10 weeks. Private academies operate under such names as ¡°SAT Consulting¡± and ¡°Overseas Education Institute¡± even after their licenses were revoked for overcharging.
¡ß W10 million in cash
One language institute in Daechi-dong, an upmarket district in Seoul, is famous by word of mouth among parents not only for its SAT courses but also for high tuition fees. It¡¯s impossible to enroll via telephone since the institute is not registered as a language institute ? parents need to arrange an interview with the principal. One parent recalls, ¡°The institute made the absurd demand to pay that huge amount in cash during business hours. But I had no other option.¡±
In Korea, SAT crammers must register at the regional Office of Education, submitting lecturers¡¯ educational certificates and reporting tuition fees. A staffer with a private institute says many private academies offer illegal tutoring but are registered as consulting companies.
One private institute in Shinsa-dong, Seoul, is said to charge even more than W10 million for a 10-week SAT math course. Despite the price, the course was fully booked a month ago. ¡°Last year, we gave a presentation for the SAT course,¡± a staffer with the institute says. ¡°But this year, there were plenty of applicants without any presentation.¡±
¡°These illegal crammers operate secretly and it is quite difficult to catch them without a tip-off,¡± an official at the Seoul Office of Education said. When private academies charge different tuition fees from those they report to the authorities, they can be punished, but parents tend not to give information about such illegal practices to the police.
¡ß Homecoming Korean students feed SAT crammers
A counselor with a popular SAT crammer says the number of homecoming Korean students stood at 15,000 last year and is expected to grow this year. Korean Air said flights from L.A and New York to Seoul are on average 99 percent booked from May 26 to June 4. The average rate on all flights from the U.S is 95 percent during the same period.
To coincide with the flood of custom, well-known SAT crammers in Korea close enrollment at the end of April. A principal of a SAT crammer said a dozen language institutes gave presentations at hotels last year. ¡°But this year, many parents are enrolling their kids without such big promotions.¡±
Parents say they have to send their children to SAT crammers here because there are no such private academies in the U.S. One mother whose daughter studies at a U.S. college says she spent more than W30 million on SAT courses in Korea over the last three years.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
