Shrinking School Environment Improvement Budget... Concerns Over 'Facility Aging'

Budget This Year Less Than One-Third of 2023
"If Old Supplies Accumulate, Students Will Ultimately Suffer"
Securing Budget for Meal Facility Improvements Most Urgent

The budget for improving aging school facilities managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has significantly decreased, putting school facilities at risk of further deterioration. The related budget has shrunk to less than one-third over the past three years.

According to the Metropolitan Office of Education on the 10th, this year's budget for the school education environment improvement project is 158.4 billion KRW, a sharp decline from 560.4 billion KRW in 2023 and 336.3 billion KRW last year. The Metropolitan Office of Education conducts a school-by-school survey every three years to prioritize schools based on aging and other factors and carries out improvement construction accordingly. The facilities of prioritized schools are repaired and maintained over three years until the next survey is conducted.

The most recent survey was conducted in 2023, and construction for prioritized schools should be carried out over three years from last year to next year. However, due to the significant budget cut this year, it has become difficult to proceed with the construction planned for this year. A Metropolitan Office of Education official said, "To complete the construction within three years, it should be divided into 33% each year, but this year only half of that amount was allocated," adding, "If what should be resolved in three years takes 7 to 8 years, the amount of aging facilities will accumulate accordingly." The official also expressed concern, saying, "If the budget cuts for facility projects accumulate, the number of aging facilities will increase, and ultimately, the children will suffer."

The education environment improvement project consists of a total of 11 detailed projects, including school heating and cooling facilities. Among these, the most urgent budget need is for the improvement of meal service facilities. Since 2023, the Ministry of Education has been actively promoting the improvement of ventilation facilities in school cafeterias to secure the health rights of cooking staff, but the budget allocated falls far short of the required amount. This year's budget for meal service facility improvements is 12.2 billion KRW, which is eight times less than the estimated cost for this year (96.6 billion KRW) based on last year's "Seoul-type School Cafeteria Ventilation Facility Improvement Guidelines." Because of this, the Metropolitan Office of Education has applied for a policy study to reduce construction costs.

The drastic cut in the Metropolitan Office of Education's facility budget is due to expenditure restructuring following a decrease in government revenue. The grants, which make up a large portion of the Metropolitan Office of Education's budget, decreased by 19.3%, from 7.5896 trillion KRW in 2022 to 6.1231 trillion KRW this year. As a result, the education office had to reduce its budget, and facility-related budgets were pushed back to secure funds for newly introduced "education reform" policies. Additionally, a special provision that allowed partial national funding for free high school education expired at the end of last year, forcing the use of local finances and increasing the financial burden on the Metropolitan Office of Education.

Jung Geun-sik, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated in a press release last year, "Due to the non-reflection of increased grants for free education and the 2024 tax revenue shortfall, the 2025 revenue budget has been reduced by about 350 billion KRW compared to the previous year," adding, "The reduced budget inevitably leads to cuts in facility and education project expenses. We are currently implementing tight fiscal management as if squeezing a dry rag," emphasizing the need to expand education finances.