Gwanak-gu to Support 11.9 Billion KRW for School Education Expenses This Year

Since the Launch of the 7th Civilian Administration, Gradual Increase in Education Budget, Efforts to Improve School Educational Environment... Support for Middle and High School Freshmen Admission Preparation Funds, Free Meals and Education for All High School Grades

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is significantly expanding its education-related support budget for 2021, actively working to reduce the financial burden of education and improve the educational environment through financial support for kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools in the region.

The district will provide a total of approximately 11.9 billion KRW to 90 schools in the area, including ▲ 5 billion KRW for education expense subsidies ▲ 5.42 billion KRW for free school meals ▲ 300 million KRW for innovative education support projects ▲ 310 million KRW for entrance preparation funds ▲ 330 million KRW for free education ▲ 160 million KRW for career and job experience support ▲ 370 million KRW for the SAM mentoring project, among others.

The largest portion, the education expense subsidy, has increased from 1.5 billion KRW in 2018 to double since the launch of the 7th local government administration, with an additional 1 billion KRW increase each year over the past two years, securing 5 billion KRW in 2021.

The 2021 education expense subsidy support details include ▲ projects related to COVID-19 response ▲ projects requested by each school such as academic improvement, special talents and aptitudes, and after-school programs ▲ specialized program contests to revitalize general high schools ▲ future creative classroom construction projects ▲ facility and environment improvement projects.

In particular, thorough support is provided for school education in the post-COVID-19 era through quarantine projects responding to COVID-19 and the establishment of an online class infrastructure for non-face-to-face education.

When applying for projects, the district ensured that the needs of the educational field were reflected through consultations with school operation committees and student councils, and autonomy of schools was secured by allowing customized project applications tailored to the characteristics of each school.

The education expense subsidies will be provided after review and resolution by the ‘Education Expense Deliberation Committee’ held in February, based on applications from each school.

Meanwhile, starting this year, the district will support entrance preparation funds of 300,000 KRW per person for new middle and high school students to reduce parents’ education expenses.

Additionally, the district plans to strengthen the public nature of education by expanding eco-friendly free school meals and free education, which were gradually implemented from the third year of high school in 2019, to all grades in high school, providing 5.75 billion KRW, an increase of about 900 million KRW compared to the previous year.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “We have significantly expanded the support budget to alleviate the economic burden on parents amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation and to create an educational environment where children can nurture their dreams. We will continue to do our best to contribute to closing the educational gap and revitalizing public education through quality support such as academic improvement and educational condition enhancement for students at all school levels.”