Increase in Multicultural Students Amid Declining School-Age Population... Strengthening Support for Basic Learning and Career Planning

Support for Settlement and Independence to Be Expanded at Multicultural Family Support Centers
Basic Learning Programs to Increase from 168 to 183 Centers
Career Counseling Age Range Extended from 7-18 to 7-24

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will strengthen and expand the Multicultural Family Support Center project to support the school life adaptation, academic achievement, and career development of children from multicultural families.

According to the Ministry on the 12th, basic learning programs such as reading, writing, and arithmetic to improve the basic academic skills of children from multicultural families will be expanded from 168 centers to 183 centers this year. Previously, the programs targeted preschoolers and lower-grade elementary students, but last year the target range was extended to upper-grade elementary students.

Multicultural education center at Pyeongtaek University in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do, where immigrant-background youth are attending Korean language classes. Photo by Huh Young-han

Academic and career counseling, which was conducted at 135 centers to increase students' motivation for learning and help them design their own career paths, will be expanded to 137 centers this year. The supported age range has also been extended from 7-18 years to 7-24 years.

The Ministry explained that, with the rapid increase in school-age children from multicultural families recently, they are expanding customized support according to the children's growth stages.

According to basic education statistics, the number of elementary, middle, and high school students last year was 5,132,180, a decrease of 76,849 (1.48%) from 5,209,029 in 2023. In contrast, the number of multicultural students increased by 12,636 (6.98%) from 181,178 to 193,814 during the same period. The proportion of multicultural students among all elementary, middle, and high school students rose from 3.5% to 3.8%.

Last year, the Ministry newly operated an educational activity support project to improve the learning abilities of these students, and it was reported that about 46,000 children from multicultural families received assistance.

The Ministry also established customized vocational training courses reflecting the characteristics and strengths of marriage immigrants who wish to find employment or start a business, through collaboration between family centers and Women New Employment Centers and other vocational education and training institutions. The entire process from basic employment education to vocational training and job linkage is supported, and this year, 70 courses will be operated at 81 centers.

Hwang Yoon-jung, Director of the Youth and Family Policy Office at the Ministry, said, "We will strive to ensure that support services for multicultural families are provided more carefully and efficiently in the field through organic communication with Multicultural Family Support Centers, experts, and related organizations."