Pilot Operation Ahead of Full Implementation in 2025
Applications by Late April, Selection Planned for Mid-May
The Ministry of Education announced on the 13th that it will promote the '2023 Leading Education Offices for Early Childhood Care and Education Integration' to carry out tasks aimed at reducing the educational and care gaps between kindergartens and daycare centers as the first step toward integration.
The Leading Education Offices for integration will proactively identify and support tasks at the regional level to support gap-free growth for children through collaboration between metropolitan/provincial offices of education and local governments, ahead of the unified management system of the Ministry of Education and metropolitan/provincial offices of education scheduled for 2025.
To this end, under the principles of public reassurance, diversity, autonomy, and regional focus for integration, tasks to reduce gaps such as alleviating parental burdens, improving care conditions, and enhancing safe education and care environments will be operated, along with tasks proposed by metropolitan/provincial offices of education that consider regional conditions and specificities.
Metropolitan/provincial offices of education and local governments will form regional consultative bodies and select support targets based on the nature of the tasks and regional circumstances, either across the entire metropolitan/provincial area or within city/county/district regions or institutions. Among these, funding for meal costs or early childhood tuition fees will principally be borne by the education offices and local governments, while some project and operational costs for certain tasks will be supported through special grants.
The Ministry of Education will select leading education offices with strong commitment and capability through a selection committee review in May, designate support officers within the Ministry’s Early Childhood Education and Care Integration Promotion Team for each task of the leading education offices, and link them with the Integration Promotion Advisory Group to help effectively implement the tasks.
Additionally, to support successful integration, operational cases of the leading education offices will be shared and analyzed with metropolitan/provincial offices of education and local governments to be utilized in establishing a 'new integrated institution model.'
Lee Sang-jin, Director of the Early Childhood Education and Care Integration Promotion Team, stated, “Ahead of the full implementation of the new integrated institution in 2025, we expect that collaboration between metropolitan/provincial offices of education and local governments, as well as between kindergartens and daycare centers, will be activated through the Leading Education Offices for integration, and various gap-reduction tasks for our children will be discovered and implemented.” He emphasized, “The role of the region is more important than ever in creating an ‘environment good for raising children,’ so we will actively cooperate with education offices, local governments, and related organizations.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
