Education Corruption

[Anchor Lead]

Parents of young children have staged a rally to demand reforms in the wake of a massive corruption scandal in private kindergartens. Education authorities are warning that kindergartens refusing to participate in the kindergarten enrollment management system operated by the government will have their state subsidies cut.

[Pkg]

[Soundbite] "We'll protect you, our precious children."

Parents holding balloons and yellow pickets fill the park. An estimated 500 people participated in the rally to demand reforms at private kindergartens.

[Soundbite] Kim Kyung-sook(Parent) : "There are many young children in Dongtan and many young parents, because it's a new town. We want to seize this opportunity to eradicate corruption at kindergartens."

The parents demand that state-run accounting and enrollment management systems be introduced in private kindergartens to prevent corruption.

[Soundbite] Chang Sung-hoon(Dongtan Kindergarten Emergency Committee) : "We want the state-run enrollment management system to be introduced in private kindergartens. Currently, parents must attend introductory sessions held at private kindergartens to have their kids enrolled."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education says it will cut state subsidies for kindergartens that refuse to join the enrollment management system. This means that monthly wage subsidies of 520,000 won provided by the government to pay for private kindergarten directors and operation funds will be halted. Moreover, such kindergartens will top the list of places subject to audits. Only 6.1 percent of private kindergartens in the city of Seoul joined the state-run management system this year. However, kindergartens insist that using the same enrollment system at private and public kindergartens is unfair. They are also demanding that the names of corrupt education officials be disclosed as well, because private kindergartens are even more transparent financially than education officials.