Tuition prices at hagwon or private cram schools will be posted on the Web sites of each regional education office as soon as next year. An official from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Monday that the education authorities plan to obligate hagwon to disclose their fees online in order to prevent overcharging.

He said the ministry is working on revising the law dealing with the establishment and operation of hagwon. If the bill is passed at the National Assembly, the revised law will take effect from next year.

The education authorities expect the open data will enable parents to reasonably choose hagwon and will efficiently prevent them from being overcharged.

Earlier, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education introduced a system to calculate “appropriate fees’’ using data on teacher’s salary, revenue and other expenditure. The system will officially begin operation in December and hagwon will not be allowed to charge parents above the “appropriate’’ fees released on the Internet.

Source: Korea Times