"Making Future Generations Environmental Citizens"... Full-Scale Promotion of School Environmental Education Activation

Ministry of Environment and Education Superintendents Hold 'School Environmental Education Emergency Declaration Ceremony'
Ensuring Students' Right to Environmental Learning and Exploring Greenhouse Gas Reduction Measures

Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment is set to actively promote measures to revitalize school environmental education in order to raise awareness of the climate and environmental crisis era among the growing future generations and to nurture them as environmental citizens.

Earlier, last month, the Ministry of Environment held a meeting with those responsible for environmental education from the Ministry of Education, metropolitan and provincial offices of education, and frontline schools, focusing on the need for systematic environmental education to address environmental issues such as fine dust and climate change.

The participants agreed on the necessity to strengthen environmental education for future generations and prepared joint measures to revitalize school environmental education.

The joint measures consist of strengthening environmental education linked to school curricula, enhancing teachers' expertise, establishing environmental education hub facilities, and building a foundation to activate regional environmental education.

As the first step of the joint measures to revitalize school environmental education, the superintendents of education from across the country held the "Emergency Declaration Ceremony for School Environmental Education in the Era of Climate Crisis and Environmental Disasters" on the 9th at Lotte Resort located in Buyeo, Chungnam.

About 50 environmental education officials attended the event, including superintendents of education nationwide, Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae, and Vice Minister of Education Park Baek-beom.

The emergency declaration includes ▲ guaranteeing students' right to environmental learning ▲ fostering schools as core hubs for environmental education ▲ creating a community culture where schools, villages, and regions coexist ▲ seeking practicable greenhouse gas reduction measures at schools and education offices.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment and 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education will operate the "School Environmental Education Policy Research Group" to actively implement the emergency declaration and joint measures for environmental education.

The policy research group will conduct studies until the end of this year on a school environmental education implementation plan (roadmap) for sustainable living, environmental education methods that can be practiced in classrooms, and the establishment of exemplary models of regionally specialized environmental education. The Ministry of Environment plans to reflect the research results in the 3rd Comprehensive Environmental Education Plan (2021?2025).

Lee Byung-hwa, Policy Planning Officer at the Ministry of Environment, said, "This emergency declaration is an important first step toward normalizing school environmental education in the era of environmental crisis," adding, "We will promote systematic environmental education measures to guarantee the environmental learning rights of students, who are the main actors of the future generation, and help them grow as environmental citizens."