The Special Act on the Establishment and Operation of Urban Campuses, which includes provisions for establishing 'branch schools' of public schools in urban areas, passed the National Assembly Education Committee plenary session on the 27th.
On the same day, the Education Committee passed the bill after holding a public hearing on the 'Special Act on the Establishment and Operation of Urban Campuses,' proposed by Kim Young-ho, chairman of the Education Committee (affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea), reflecting the subcommittee's review results.
The Urban Campus Act was prepared as an alternative to address issues arising from the rapid decrease in the student population due to low birth rates, which has led to school consolidations even in urban areas, and the problems of overcrowding and excessive concentration of students caused by regional school preferences and redevelopment or reconstruction projects.
This law applies to cities with populations of 200,000 or more, such as special cities, metropolitan cities, and special self-governing cities, allowing for branch schools under the supervision of the main school.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is currently developing and implementing an urban campus model. In Seoul's case, there are plans to preserve existing schools in a campus form when small-scale consolidations are unavoidable, and to establish new schools in areas where student numbers increase due to redevelopment or reconstruction projects but do not meet the requirements for new school establishment. Currently, urban campuses are being promoted in the Sangil-dong and Dunchon-dong areas of Gangdong-gu.
Meanwhile, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which includes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) digital textbooks as educational materials, has been referred to the agenda coordination committee at the ruling party's request. Jo Jeong-hoon, the education committee secretary of the People Power Party, said, "Regarding such sharply divided opinions between the ruling and opposition parties, we request the formation of an agenda coordination committee to gather wisdom rather than rushing to a decision."
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