Seoul: The head of the national human rights watchdog on Monday took issue with the country's "excessive" early education fervor for young children, saying it is depriving them of their childhood.

According to Yonhap News Agency, private preschool programs, especially those specializing in English, have recently come under growing scrutiny over their intensive classes designed to prepare young children for competitive academic admissions. Ahn Chang-ho, chair of the National Human Rights Commission, stated in a release that the expansion of extreme early education is a serious children's rights problem. He emphasized that such excessive early education deprives children of time to play, rest, and express themselves, while also undermining their healthy growth and development.

Ahn cited a recent United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report that ranked South Korea fourth in terms of children's skills, but 34th in mental health and 28th in physical health out of 43 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union. He pointed out that while South Korean children might excel in competitive environments, they are not sufficiently protected regarding life stability and safety.

In response to these concerns, the education ministry announced plans last month to better protect the developmental rights of young children. These include banning rote-based learning for children aged under three, among other measures, to curb excessive preschool education.