Gyeonggi Office of Education Takes Steps to Secure Additional Staff Housing

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will secure additional staff housing to address the reluctance of teaching staff to work in remote island and mountainous areas.

The Office of Education noted that due to the nature of personnel assignments across the northern and southern regions of the province, new employees often face difficulties securing stable housing when assigned outside their current residence areas. Therefore, it is expanding and supporting staff housing used for residential purposes and collective staff housing complexes with more than 10 units, the Office announced on the 19th.

Currently, the Office holds a total of 560 staff housing units, including 506 school and institution housing units and 54 collective staff housing units. These 560 units accommodate 1,931 staff members. However, as of now, 705 employees are on the waiting list for housing, representing about a 35% waiting rate compared to the total capacity of 2,002 units.

According to the Office’s internal survey, the average waiting period for staff housing is nine months. To alleviate the reluctance of teaching staff to work in remote island and mountainous areas, it is necessary to reduce this waiting period.

Accordingly, in August, the Office established a plan to expand the supply of staff housing and is working to secure additional housing units by region.

Last year, through new construction projects of collective staff housing in the Yeoju, Icheon, and Anseong areas, a total of 138 housing units were built. Additionally, this year, through the main budget and two supplementary budgets, the Office is supporting the purchase and leasing of housing in seven areas including Dongducheon, securing a total of 109 units.

Before the next year’s main budget is finalized, the Office is reviewing the purchase and new construction projects for staff housing (approximately 156 units) in seven areas including Pocheon, and is proceeding with budget planning and project consulting. The Office plans to continuously monitor waiting periods for staff housing by region and improve working conditions for teaching staff through renovation of old housing and securing new housing units.

Lee Geun-gyu, Director of Financial Management at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, stated, "The stability of staff housing and the quality of student education are proportional. We will listen to various opinions and consider the voices from the education field to enhance staff welfare and ultimately develop and implement policies that improve the quality of education."