Over 10,000 Primary and Secondary School Students Study Alone Abroad

The number of primary and secondary school students traveling alone overseas for study has surged during the past several years, exceeding 10,000 per year.

The number of primary and secondary school students who went overseas in between March 1, 2002 and February 28, 2003 was 10,132, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. This indicates a 27.5 percent rise in comparison to the previous year.

The numbers of primary, middle and high school students who went abroad in between March 1, 2002 and February 28, 2003 were 3,464, 3,301 and 3,367, respectively.

The number of primary school students who went abroad by themselves was 705 in 2000 but increased to 2,007 in 2001 and 3,564 in 2002.

Although some of parents accompany their child or children going abroad, the majority of students leave the country unaccompanied by their parents. The number of primary, middle and high school students who went abroad with parents who were emigrating or working to overseas was 17,994.

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According to existing regulations, primary and middle school students cannot go overseas to study unless the chairman of a regional education department or international education development grants them permission to go. High school and college students can leave the country to study overseas without permission. However, there are a large number of primary and middle school students who went overseas without such permission.

There are now a total of 6,380 students (3,217 primary students and 3,163 middle school students) who left the country without approval. The number was 4,898 in 2001 and 3,728 in 2000.

Seong-Chul Hong sungchul@donga.com