Equal Educational Opportunities... Busan Office of Education to Support Tuition Fees for Foreign National Preschoolers Starting Next Year

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Foreign-national infants residing in the Busan area will receive the same infant tuition support as Korean infants starting next year.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education will provide infant tuition support to foreign-national infants enrolled in public and private kindergartens in the Busan area from next year to offer equal educational opportunities and reduce the financial burden on parents.

This measure follows the establishment of a provision in the "Partial Amendment to the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education Multicultural Education Promotion Ordinance" to support the costs necessary for the education of multicultural family infants in the three years before entering elementary school at kindergartens under the Infant Education Act.

The support targets approximately 130 foreign-national infants aged 3 to 5 who are enrolled in public or private kindergartens in Busan and have completed foreigner (residence) registration in Korea.

The support amount is the same as for Korean infants. For public kindergartens, 100,000 KRW per child for the curriculum and 50,000 KRW for after-school programs, totaling 150,000 KRW, will be provided.

For private kindergartens, 280,000 KRW per child for the curriculum and 70,000 KRW for after-school programs, totaling 350,000 KRW, will be provided.

The Busan Office of Education plans to reflect the necessary budget for this project in the 2023 Busan Metropolitan Education Special Account main budget.

Kim Sun-ryang, Director of the Elementary Education Division at the Busan Office of Education, said, “This measure has created an opportunity to eliminate discrimination occurring in educational settings,” and added, “Our education office will continue to do its best to respect diversity and create a multicultural society without discrimination.”