[Reporter’s Notebook] Ministry of Education's Push for Early Childhood Integration Off Track from the Start

The Ministry of Education's initiative to integrate early childhood education and care (combining kindergarten-led early childhood education and daycare center-led childcare) is facing intense conflict even before taking its first step. This is due to the recent announcement by the Ministry selecting pilot education offices for the integration, which has sparked unified opposition from related parties.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Education announced the launch of the "2023 Pilot Education Offices for Early Childhood Education and Care Integration" as the first step to address the educational and care gaps between kindergartens and daycare centers.

However, the education sector has strongly criticized the announcement as a unilateral administrative decision made without communication with the field.

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (Jeon-gyo-jo) stated, "The plan to select and operate pilot education offices for integration without a proper meeting indicates the government's intention to forcibly push forward the integration as predetermined," and urged, "Instead of indiscriminate support without measures, present support policies that strengthen the public nature of early childhood education and the state's responsibility."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education plans to provide equal treatment to kindergarten and daycare center workers despite differences in their qualifications and status, which has led to strong opposition from teachers at national and public kindergartens, who are the only civil servants.

The problem is that amid the conflict between field stakeholders and the Ministry, discussions on "how to properly raise and educate infants and young children" are not taking place.

On January 30th, at a press conference marking his 100th day in office, Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, said, "We will keep all options open and find the best solution through communication," but also remarked, "There is a saying that integration is harder than North-South unification, but now is the time to do it, and parents seem to like it." Such optimism, detached from the field, cannot resolve conflicts or promote desirable policies.

The Ministry of Education has stated that the purpose of the integration is to provide high-quality and equitable education and care services. However, in the current educational field, words like unilateral, hasty, and reverse discrimination are being mentioned daily. If it starts this way, proper childcare and education are far from being realized. The Ministry must listen again to the voices from the educational field before pushing forward with the policy.