The Education Ministry has withdrawn its proposed ban on after-school English activities in kindergartens amid parents' concerns that it may further widen the education gap.

The ministry said after considering parents' calls for preschool English education, it has decided to allow kindergartens to provide English classes as part of after-school activities.

At Thursday's interpellation session, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said her ministry decided to withdraw the ban amid concerns it would prompt more parents to send their kids to costly English-immersion kindergartens or private English institutes.

For the sake of consistency with a separate ban on English classes for first and second graders in public elementary schools, the ministry proposed the ban on kindergartens last December but soon deferred the plan.

While a special law on public school curriculum permits English teaching from the third grade, there may be calls for the ban on elementary schools to be lifted following Thursday's announcement.