Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Launches Full-Scale Operation of Future-Oriented Integrated Elementary and Middle Schools

Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education will actively promote the 'Jeonnam-type Integrated Operation School' to respond to the decline in school-age population and changes in future society. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education is actively promoting the ‘Jeonnam-type Integrated Operation Schools’ to strengthen the educational capacity of small-scale schools in rural and fishing villages, proactively responding to the decline in school-age population and changes in future society.

According to the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education on the 28th, due to the decline in birth rates and the decrease in school-age population, the number of small-scale schools has steadily increased. Among the total 877 elementary, middle, and high schools in Jeonnam Province, 380 schools, accounting for 43.3%, have fewer than 60 students.

To overcome this situation, the Office of Education has been operating ‘Integrated Schools’ since 1999, which integrate two schools of different levels to share and utilize human and material resources. Currently, there are 12 integrated operation schools combining elementary and middle schools or middle and high schools operating in Jeonnam.

However, the Office of Education judged that these existing integrated operation schools have only achieved physical integration due to institutional and structural problems, failing to produce the expected results.

Recently, the Office conducted a survey among members of the existing integrated operation schools and analyzed that there are significant issues in curriculum, school management, and student satisfaction. According to current regulations, cross-teaching between elementary and secondary schools by teachers is not possible, and working conditions for staff, such as excessive administrative tasks, are worse than those in general schools.

They decided to foster a sustainable future-type integrated operation school concept different from the existing integrated operation schools. The newly promoted future-type integrated operation schools will establish educational conditions suitable for the 4th Industrial Revolution era through spatial restructuring linked with the Ministry of Education’s ‘Green Smart School’ project.

To effectively promote this, a ‘Integrated Operation School Promotion Planning Team’ has been formed. The planning team, composed of policy planners, elementary and secondary education supervisors, and education officers, plans to establish the ‘Jeonnam Future-type Integrated Operation School Promotion Basic Plan’ by the end of the year. Once this plan is completed, the ‘Green Smart Future School Promotion Team’ will take over from January next year to actively promote integrated operation schools, according to the Office’s plan.

Superintendent Jang Seok-woong said, “Jeonnam-type Integrated Operation Schools will be an alternative to ensure the sustainability of Jeonnam schools facing the transition to the 4th Industrial Revolution era, population decline, and the crisis of school extinction. We will dramatically enhance the competitiveness of integrated operation schools and nurture them into schools that everyone wants to attend.”