Government legislation ministry says university students tutoring privately must follow fee rules

The Ministry of Government Legislation said Friday that university students providing private tutoring must adhere to fee regulations even though they are exempt from registering as tutors.

The ruling, issued July 24 in response to a public inquiry (case 26-0417), determined that the exemption under Article 14-2 of the Private Tutoring Act applies solely to the obligation to report personal details and lesson plans to local education superintendents. It does not exclude these students from other legal obligations imposed on private tutors.

"Even individuals exempt from reporting or changing their registration status bear the obligations under Article 15, Paragraph 4," the ministry stated in its official reply. This provision explicitly forbids private tutors from falsely displaying, posting, or notifying tuition fees, or collecting amounts exceeding those disclosed.

The ministry reasoned that while the law waives the reporting requirement for enrolled university students, it contains no clause excluding them from fee transparency rules. Other sections of the act uniformly regulate all private tutors regarding record-keeping, supervision, and administrative dispositions, regardless of their registration status.

This interpretation aligns with the intent of a May 2016 amendment that expanded fee transparency duties to include individual tutors. The legislative change aimed to curb illegal high-cost tutoring operations.

However, the ministry noted that its legal interpretations do not carry the same binding force as a final court judgment. Competent central administrative agencies may execute the law differently after considering specific factual circumstances.