Mapo-gu to Provide Zero Pay Gift Certificates Worth 300,000 KRW Individually to New Middle and High School Students

Purchase of daily wear, PE uniforms, and smart devices allowed besides school uniforms; applications to be accepted at enrolling schools... Payment via ZeroPay also contributes to local economic revitalization

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) is implementing the ‘Entrance Preparation Fund Project’ this year, which expands the existing free school uniform policy to strengthen the public nature of education and realize universal educational welfare.

The ‘Entrance Preparation Fund Project’ is a program in which the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and Seoul City cooperate with 25 autonomous districts to provide new middle and high school students (or their parents) attending schools in Seoul with Zero Pay gift certificates worth 300,000 KRW per individual. This allows them to autonomously purchase necessary items for school entrance preparation (such as school uniforms, daily wear, sportswear, clothing needed for attending school, smart devices, etc.).

This enables new students to receive individual payments upon admission and freely purchase necessary items within a designated range, aligning with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s policy of abolishing mandatory school uniforms.

Additionally, the Entrance Preparation Fund can be used to purchase learning mobile devices (tablet PCs), which is expected to provide practical support to students amid the surge in online classes due to COVID-19.

The support targets new students entering middle and high schools located in Mapo-gu in 2021. Applications will be accepted at each school upon admission, and any inquiries can be directed to the respective schools.

Before implementing the Entrance Preparation Fund, the district was the first in Seoul to start supporting free school uniforms for middle school freshmen in 2019 and continued to support uniform purchase costs for middle school freshmen in the area in 2020, leading efforts to reduce the educational expenses burden on families.

Last year, a total of 2,696 new middle school students residing in Mapo-gu received approximately 761.24 million KRW for school uniform purchases. Among them, 2,673 students attended schools located in Mapo-gu, and 23 students attended schools outside the district.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, stated, “Supporting the purchase of essential learning items such as school uniforms and learning mobile devices through the Entrance Preparation Fund is an educational policy that extends free education. We expect this to be a triple-win policy that reduces parents’ educational expenses burden, broadens the range of supported items to aid online learning, and contributes to revitalizing the local economy through the use of Zero Pay.”