The first public care space outside of schools in the country has opened in Incheon.
On the 28th, the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education held an opening ceremony for the Western Hub-type Neulbom Center on the 2nd floor of the commercial building at Luwon Jwell City Prugio in Seo-gu, Incheon, and began full-scale operations. The ceremony was attended by Do Seonghun, Superintendent of Education of Incheon, Shin Chung-sik, Chair of the Education Committee of the Incheon City Council, Jeong Jong-hyeok, member of the Incheon City Council, representatives from KB Financial Group who donated funds for the establishment of the Neulbom Center, and the representative of the residents' association of Luwon Jwell City Prugio.
The Office of Education invested a total project cost of 3.2 billion KRW to create the Neulbom Center, a 436㎡ facility including three classrooms, a virtual reality (VR) sports room, a lounge, and offices.
On the 28th, the opening ceremony of the 'Western Hub Neulbom Center' was held at Luone Gel City Prugio mixed-use complex in Gajeong-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon. February 28, 2024. [Photo by Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education]
This Neulbom Center serves as an out-of-school care space to address the shortage of care classroom space caused by overcrowded schools, integrating various educational programs. The Office of Education plans to provide full-scale care services starting from the school opening day on the 4th of next month, including after-school transportation support for about 60 students.
Superintendent Do said, "The Western Hub-type Neulbom Center is the first public care space established outside of schools among metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide," and added, "We will expand the hub-type Neulbom Centers so that more students can benefit from care services."
Meanwhile, the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education plans to expand the Neulbom School program to all 265 elementary schools in Incheon starting from the second half of this year. First, in the first half of the year, the number of Neulbom Schools will increase from the existing 30 to 60 schools, and in the second half, it will expand to all 265 schools, while also adding 20 more elementary care classrooms.
Neulbom School is an educational program that supports elementary students to receive education and care before and after regular classes. Additionally, in December last year, the Office of Education launched an elementary care portal service that allows users to view care information at a glance.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
