Income disparity most severe in educational spending, survey finds
The social gap between high and low income earners has been widening in terms of spending on private education, as the top 10 percent of earners spend 10 times as much as the bottom decile on their children’s tutoring and extracurricular academics. Out of a number of items of spending looked at, educational costs showed the biggest gap in terms of income; within education itself, private tutoring spending registered the largest disparity. According to results of a survey conducted by the Korea National Statistical Office (NSO) and released August 14, the highest decile of earners spent an average of 316,000 won (US$325) a month on additional private lessons for their children during the second quarter of this year. However, the lowest 10 percent spent just 31,000 won a month on private educational costs, a 10.2-fold fall from the top 10 percent, the biggest gap between those groups seen since 2003. That year, the gap was 6.5-fold; it increased to 7.5-fold in 2004 and went down to the 7.4-fold mark in 2005. But the figure sharply increased to a 9.9-fold gap in the first quarter of this year and surpassed the 10-fold mark during the second quarter.A gap in terms of total educational spending has been on the increase, as well, recording a 6.2-fold between the top and bottom income deciles in 2003, a 6.3-fold gap 2004, and a 6.8-fold gap in 2005. The number stayed at 5.5 fold in the first quarter of this year, but it soared to 8.2-fold in the second quarter, showing that polarization has been widening more swiftly in spending on private tutoring than on education overall. In addition to private tutoring, fees paid to schools, as well as expenses for materials and stationary, were included in calculating overall educational costs. In addition to education, the NSO surveyed spending on various items such as food, housing, energy, water, furniture and household items, clothing, health, recreation, transportation, and communication. Among these items surveyed, the educational costs recorded the biggest gap between income levels, followed by 6.8-fold gap for accessories and miscellaneous items, a 6.7-fold gap for furniture and household items, and a 6.6-fold gap for clothing and footwear.
