Jeonnam Office of Education to Tackle School-Age Population Crisis Head-On

Launch of the Strategic Planning Task Force

On June 19, the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education held the launching ceremony for the "School-Age Population Crisis Response Strategic Planning Task Force" at Jakseon Elementary School in Gangjin, marking the start of full-scale efforts to achieve sustainable education in Jeonnam.

Approximately 50 people attended the ceremony, including Superintendent Kim Daejung, Kim Mi, the head of Jindo Office of Education and chairperson of the task force's steering committee, task force members, Jakseon Elementary School faculty, and students. The "School-Age Population Crisis Response Strategic Planning Task Force" was formed by expanding and reorganizing the existing task force to actively respond to the decline in the school-age population and the risk of regional extinction. The task force consists of 30 members, including education professionals, education administration staff, and faculty.

Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education held the launching ceremony of the "School-Age Population Crisis Response Strategic Planning Task Force" and began full-scale efforts to realize education in Jeonnam. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

The launching ceremony was held at Jakseon Elementary School in Gangjin, which has been a part of the community for over 100 years, adding symbolic significance to the fact that Jeonnam's crisis response policy is beginning at a small school. The event included the reading of the "2030 Sustainable Jeonnam Education Commitment for School-Age Population Crisis Response" by Kim Mi, chairperson of the task force's steering committee, the delivery of messages of "Overcoming, Hope, and Coexistence" to Jakseon Elementary School students, and a task force council meeting.

Small schools in Jeonnam have enhanced educational competitiveness by developing region-specific branded curricula and operating joint education programs to strengthen student initiative and learning capabilities. In particular, the "Jeonnam-Style Small School Specialized Model School" program, currently implemented in 13 elementary and middle schools, has become a successful case by attracting students through appealing educational activities. The "Small School Specialty Program," currently running in 271 schools, also supports creative educational activities tailored to each school.

Last year, the "Jeonnam Office of Education Small School Film and Video Festival," the first of its kind in the nation to be hosted by an education office, was held, and this year, 26 schools are participating. The festival is expected to further spread the appeal of small schools through video content. Building on these achievements, the provincial office of education is pursuing strategies to directly address the decline in the school-age population and the crisis of regional educational extinction, aiming to turn these crises into opportunities.

Previously, since last year, the office of education has been conducting policy research alongside the operation of a task force. In May, at a meeting of department heads chaired by the superintendent, the "Five-Year Plan for Realizing Jeonnam Glocal Schools (Draft)" was discussed. Based on this, three main strategies were established: strengthening the strengths of Jeonnam education, alleviating the crisis in regional education, and specializing in Jeonnam glocal education. Moving forward, the task force will operate separate councils for each of the three strategy teams and gather feedback from the educational community through forums, aiming to finalize the plan by November.

Superintendent Kim Daejung stated, "The decline in the school-age population is a crisis that South Korea has never experienced before," and added, "We will turn this enormous crisis into a great opportunity and achieve a new leap forward for Jeonnam education."