Enslaved by the bell? Young elementary students say a later end of school would be ‘exhausting.’

Most first- and second-graders say they would find it "hard and exhausting" to stay in class until 3 p.m., according to a recent survey, as teacher groups step up opposition to a government proposal to extend school hours for younger elementary school students.

The elementary school teachers' union surveyed 29,136 first- and second-grade students nationwide on the proposal, according to education sources Monday. Asked how they would feel about being in class with their homeroom teacher for extra periods and leaving school at 3 p.m. — two hours later than the current dismissal time of around 1 p.m. — 65.5 percent, or 19,072 students, said it would be difficult and tiresome.

Another 30.8 percent said, "I would get home too late because I would still have to go to private academies and after-school classes." Just 3.7 percent said they thought it would be fine to study longer in the classroom.

Critics say keeping young children at school longer may not comport with their stage of development, and teachers are also concerned about heavier workloads amid staffing shortages.

"Younger elementary school students" refers to first- and second-graders, typically 6 to 8 years old. They currently have four or five 40-minute class periods a day and generally leave school around 1 p.m. The proposal under discussion would extend the school day through a sixth or seventh period, keeping students at school until around 3 p.m. — about one to two hours longer than the current schedule.

The survey was conducted online over two days starting Wednesday. Students either participated directly or teachers tallied a show of hands. A total of 12,024 first-graders and 17,112 second-graders participated.

Asked what worried them most about longer classroom hours, 45.5 percent said “having to sit for a long time would be difficult and tiring,” the most common response. Another 27.7 percent said they would have less time to play because their private academy classes would also end later, while 26.8 percent said they would have less time with their parents or family.

Students also said they wanted to play with friends or spend time with their families after school. Asked what they most wanted to do after school, 47.6 percent chose “Play freely with friends at the playground or at home,” while 45.2 percent chose “Spend time with parents and family.”

Spending time building relationships with family and getting enough rest are essential to the development of younger elementary school students — not spending more hours at school — the union argued, citing the survey.

“Extending instructional hours does not necessarily lead to a better education,” said Kang Seok-jo, the head of the union. “Discussions about instructional hours for younger elementary school students should not focus on how long children can be kept at school, but on what kind of lessons and rest are appropriate for their stage of development.”

The union's survey coincided with a broader push by the National Education Commission to open the issue up for public debate.

The commission plans to hold a joint policy forum on Thursday with the National Assembly Futures Institute and the Korean Educational Development Institute, among others. Education experts, teachers and parents will discuss issues surrounding longer instructional hours for younger elementary school students.

The later final bell was one of President Lee Jae Myung's campaign pledges, but it is meeting significant pushback from teachers' groups.

Proposals to extend instructional hours for younger elementary school students have surfaced repeatedly over the past decade, only to stall each time amid opposition from most teachers, who cite concerns both about a sharp rise in their workloads and the potential negative effects of long classroom hours on young children’s physical and emotional development.

A teachers' group also issued a statement Monday calling for educational assessments of children’s developmental needs before any change is made.

“Educational verification based on children’s developmental stages must come first, and financial and structural support to secure enough teachers and ease overcrowded classrooms must also be prioritized,” the group said. “The care gap when children first enter elementary school stems not from short class hours but from a structural problem — insufficient educational infrastructure.”

Some parents, however, are hoping longer hours could ease their child care burden.

“When my first child entered elementary school, there was no one who could look after them, so I had no choice but to send them to a taekwondo academy,” said a parent whose two children are in first and second grade. “If public education takes responsibility for children over longer hours, it would ease both the child care and private education cost burden.”

BY LEE BO-RAM [[email protected]]