Gangwon Provincial Office of Education Promotes Establishment of 'Gangwon Special Education Center'... Expanding Support for Special Education

Formation of TF Team for Education Center Establishment by Year-End... Construction to Start in 2024
Increase in Support Funds for Disabled Students and After-School Education Fees from Next Year

[Gangwon Provincial Office of Education]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The Gangwon Provincial Office of Education is expanding support for students with special educational needs in the province by establishing the Gangwon Special Education Center (tentative name).

According to the provincial education office on the 16th, the total number of students with special educational needs in Gangwon Province is 2,869 as of March this year. This is an increase of 109 students compared to 2,760 last year.

The estimated budget for establishing the Gangwon Special Education Center is approximately 41.4 billion KRW. The site selection is being discussed to build the center in densely populated areas such as Chuncheon and Wonju.

The TF team formed to establish the center by the end of this year plans to conduct opinion gathering and public hearings within the province.

The plan is to include site selection and design service fees in next year’s main budget, start construction in 2024, and complete the center within Superintendent Shin Kyung-ho’s term.

The facility size is being reviewed as either one building (5 floors) or two buildings (2-3 floors), and will include a disability awareness education room, AI education room, and a special education engineering experience center.

The provincial education office plans to start policy research from the second half of the year, using regions such as Gyeongnam, Chungbuk, and Daejeon, which already have special education centers, as models.

Meanwhile, the treatment support allowance, which currently provides up to 120,000 KRW per month per student with disabilities, will increase to 160,000 KRW per month starting next year. As of this year, 1,425 special education students in the province are eligible for this treatment support allowance.

After-school education fees will also increase from the existing 120,000 KRW to 150,000 KRW.

To improve the educational environment of special classes and special schools, the environmental improvement fund, which was previously 2.5 million KRW, will be expanded to 3.5 million KRW.

As of March this year, there are nine special schools in the province (eight public and one private), and 393 special classes across 365 kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools in the province.

Superintendent Shin Kyung-ho, during the previous provincial superintendent election, presented achieving zero basic academic underachievement rate as a key pledge and promised educational welfare policies such as establishing the Gangwon Special Education Center and providing apartment shuttle buses for commuting students.