Daegu Office of Education Allocates 4.2746 Trillion Won Budget for Next Year, 4.6% Increase from This Year

Resolution Passed by City Council on December 12

The Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education (Superintendent Kang Eun-hee) announced on the 28th that it has prepared the 2025 Daegu Metropolitan Special Education Account budget at 4.2746 trillion KRW, an increase of 189.5 billion KRW or 4.6% compared to this year's budget, and submitted it to the Daegu City Council.

Despite the reduction in education finances due to the continued decrease in national tax revenue since last year, the increase in grants for free high school education, and the sunset of the local education tax portion of tobacco consumption tax, budgets preparing for the future such as the increase in personnel expenses (11.64 billion KRW compared to the previous year), the expansion of elementary Neulbom schools starting next year, and the introduction of AI digital textbooks must be actively invested.

Daegu Office of Education

Despite the deterioration of education finances, the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education plans to focus essential educational activities by utilizing 250 billion KRW from the Education Facility Environment Improvement Fund and 100 billion KRW from the Integrated Financial Stabilization Fund, which have been accumulated by the Office of Education.

Looking at the major increases and decreases in the expenditure budget, personnel expenses for faculty and staff, which account for 60.8% of the total budget as rigid expenses, increased by 4.7% (116.4 billion KRW) compared to the previous year; school operation expenses increased by 18% (44.5 billion KRW); educational welfare expenses increased by 13.1% (37 billion KRW); and health and meal expenses increased by 4.2% (8.9 billion KRW). To efficiently allocate limited resources and focus investment on the Daegu Future Competency Education project, school (institution) facility expenses (△4.7%, △18.9 billion KRW), consumable and event-related projects have been adjusted by rescheduling or reducing expenditures, thereby cutting back on non-educational investments.

The Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education reflects the necessity, effectiveness, and timing of projects comprehensively to enhance financial management efficiency, focusing on five core projects: practice-centered character education, support for learning competency improvement, support for sharing and filling educational welfare, creation of future-oriented educational environments, and operation of a collaborative educational community.

With practice-centered character education that cultivates students' inner strength, 57 billion KRW is allocated to strengthen heart education so that students can develop warm hearts and proper character, character education with the community, activation of peer activities, reading activities with the "One Subject, One Book" initiative, one student one art activity, and life and experiential education. It also aims to enhance global citizenship competencies through sustainable, future-oriented awareness improvement and practice.

To help students proactively develop learning competencies and grow into future talents, 153 billion KRW is planned. This includes expanding supplementary curriculum programs to improve basic literacy and numeracy to guarantee basic academic skills for all students, opening the AI Education Support Center, establishing a foundation for AI digital education such as the field implementation of digital textbooks, changes in classes through the IB program and future schools, strengthening teachers' teaching and evaluation competencies, and actively promoting the Education Development Special Zone project to nurture excellent local talents to grow into future talents within the region.

To broadly and deeply support the potential of all children, 586.4 billion KRW will be invested. This includes raising the unit cost of free school meals, supporting free uniforms for new students, providing educational expenses for vulnerable groups, opening the Korean Language Education Center, operating customized mentoring and the Da-it-da service for Korean language education and learning support for multicultural families, reflecting 357.2 billion KRW to realize inclusive educational welfare. Additionally, 229.2 billion KRW is allocated to strengthen the public nature of early childhood education and expand customized special education support through the expansion of elementary Neulbom schools, pilot operation of integrated childcare, additional support for preschool tuition and childcare fees, and support for treatment costs by disability type.

To strengthen school safety for students' healthy growth, 470.4 billion KRW is allocated. This includes improving aging meal equipment and facilities, supporting health examination costs to help students build self-esteem, promoting physical education, fostering life respect awareness, and providing violence prevention and restorative education with 82.8 billion KRW. Furthermore, 387.6 billion KRW will be invested in building digital learning infrastructure for the AI digital textbooks introduced next year, creating future-oriented school spaces, operating smart library services, and converging and complexifying school facilities.

436 billion KRW is prepared for operating an educational community based on respect and trust, improving school culture through sustainable family community formation education and revitalization of local community education governance, and creating a communication and trust-based learning environment satisfying all members of the educational community through stable operation of the educational administration information system and field-oriented school support centers.

The Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education emphasized that following last year, it plans to prepare a supplementary budget using 160 billion KRW of funds due to a 240 billion KRW reduction in Ministry of Education grants caused by the Ministry of Economy and Finance's tax revenue re-estimation in the second half of this year, and for the 2025 budget, it will use 350 billion KRW of funds due to the reduction in Daegu city transfers, maintaining a steady focus on investing in Daegu Future Competency Education.

Superintendent Kang Eun-hee of Daegu Education said, "In uncertain financial conditions where education finances are shrinking due to declining student numbers, and future education demands such as integrated childcare, expansion of Neulbom schools, strengthening education, and digital education transformation are increasing, we will do our best to create better education and better schools tailored to each and every one of our children."

Meanwhile, the 2025 Special Education Account budget will be reviewed at the 313th regular session of the Daegu City Council and is scheduled to be finally approved at the plenary session on December 12.