The education ministry will put more emphasis on practical mathematics education in elementary, middle and high schools in a bid to reduce private education expenses, officials said Wednesday.
According to a plan unveiled by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, students will be led to handle real-life math questions and attend classes closely matching their mathematical abilities.
The new curriculum will focus on the problem-solving process instead of memorizing mathematical formulas, and high school students will be allowed to use a calculator on math tests, officials from the ministry said.
They said that the new curriculum plan will also be aimed at developing real-life and problem-solving math questions so as to encourage students to get motivated about and interested in learning the subject in schools rather than in private institutions.
It is designed to reinforce public education in order to prevent students from feeling compelled to rely more on private lessons at costly academies and institutes to get further education, said the officials.
In a related move to bolster after-school English classes, the education ministry will distribute English textbooks developed by the state-funded public education broadcaster EBS and give financial support to students from low-income families.
South Korean parents spent a total of 20.9 trillion won (US$18.6 billion) last year on educating their children at private institutions and the government pledged to reduce the expenses by 1 trillion won in 2011.