Ministry of Science and ICT Calls for 17 City and Province Education Operators for 'Digital Learning Center' Project

Bridging the Digital Divide Amid COVID-19
Helping Digitally Marginalized Groups Unaware of Government Subsidies and How to Use Government24

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The government will implement practical digital competency training focused on mobile and everyday life for citizens starting next month to bridge the digital divide amid COVID-19. To this end, it will also conduct a large-scale recruitment of education providers.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) announced on the 7th that they will post a public notice from the 8th to the 26th to select education providers for each of the 17 metropolitan and provincial areas to carry out the digital competency enhancement education project (Digital Learning Centers).

This project aims to operate 1,000 Digital Learning Centers nationwide across 17 metropolitan and provincial areas to prevent the digital divide from leading to social and economic discrimination as daily life becomes digitalized due to COVID-19. The education will take place in local living spaces such as community centers, libraries, and senior citizen centers near residents' homes.

The digital competency education courses are broadly composed of basic digital usage training such as smart devices, video conferencing solutions, and social networking services (SNS), as well as mobile transportation, finance, shopping, electronic government, public services, smart office, various certifications, and basic coding. Public services include applying for subsidies and using Government24.

In particular, this year, at least 20% of the programs will be tailored for digitally vulnerable groups such as the elderly, disabled, farmers and fishermen, and multicultural families, and the proportion of basic and everyday digital education will be increased to about 70%, thereby strengthening the role of the digital social safety net.

Education providers selected through this announcement will collaborate with the Ministry of Science and ICT, NIA, and local governments to recruit and hire instructors and supporters and manage the overall digital competency education. Required documents for bidding and other detailed information can be found in the public bidding notice on the Korea ON-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS) operated by the Public Procurement Service.

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “Digital Learning Centers are regional hubs to move toward a digitally inclusive society where all citizens equally enjoy the benefits of digital technology,” and added, “We hope that many experienced and professional providers will show great interest to ensure high-quality education is provided.”