Ministry of Education Selects Incheon, Daejeon, Gyeonggi, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk
Supports 1st Grade EduCare... Care Available Until 8 PM
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Starting from the new semester, the 'EduCare' program for first-grade elementary school students will be implemented in 200 elementary schools across five cities and provinces including Gyeonggi-do and Incheon, and the operation of after-school care classrooms will be gradually extended until 8 PM.
On the 25th, the Ministry of Education announced that it selected five pilot education offices for the 2023 Neulbom School program through a public contest: Incheon, Daejeon, Gyeonggi, Jeonnam, and Gyeongbuk.
In the Gyeonggi area, 80 schools will participate, with 20 schools each in Incheon and Daejeon, and 40 schools each in Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk, totaling 200 schools participating in the pilot operation.
The Ministry of Education will provide a total of 60 billion KRW in special grants to the five Neulbom School pilot education offices, and deploy about 120 local government officials to 17 education offices nationwide to support administrative tasks at each school so that the workload does not increase.
For the remaining 12 city and provincial education offices that are not pilot education offices, a total of 10 billion KRW in special grants will be provided to expand after-school programs and cover evening care snack expenses to establish a foundation for the spread of Neulbom Schools, and an additional 10 billion KRW will be invested by selecting a hub-type care model.
These 200 schools will operate various after-school programs and care classrooms until 8 PM for students who wish to participate starting from the new semester in March.
To help first-grade students quickly adapt immediately after entering elementary school, an 'EduCare program' will be introduced that allows first graders to engage in play and experiential activities in the classroom after classes in early March or throughout the first semester.
Additionally, Neulbom Schools in the Incheon area will provide morning 'gap care' by creating reading rooms, musical instrument classes, and other activities for students who arrive early before regular classes.
In Daejeon, the 'Saebom Classroom' EduCare program will be operated in March for first-grade students who wish to participate across all 149 elementary schools, and it will be run throughout the first semester in 20 pilot schools. For fifth and sixth graders, free online after-school programs reflecting new demands such as artificial intelligence (AI) and coding will be offered.
Gyeonggi-do operates the 'One More Program' in about 40 elementary schools in the region, providing free educational technology (EduTech)-based curriculum content to students participating in special skills and aptitude activities.
Considering the many island areas in Jeonnam, about 40 schools will conduct after-school programs divided into urban and rural fishing village types, and the Gyeongbuk Office of Education will implement student-led one-project-per-semester programs linked to the curriculum, as well as Saturday after-school programs.
An official from the Ministry of Education explained, "Among the 290,000 students currently using care classrooms, it is estimated that about 7,100 students who use evening care until 7 PM will use the Neulbom School evening care."
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