Jinju City Council Passes Proposal Urging Establishment of Special Education Department at Gyeongsang National University

"Establishing a New Department Without Adjusting Existing Quotas" Unanimously Approved
First Step Toward Disability Welfare and Balanced Regional Development Expected

The Jinju City Council in South Gyeongsang Province held a plenary session and adopted a proposal urging the central government to approve the establishment of a Department of Special Education at Gyeongsang National University with an exceptional increase in enrollment quota. The council decided to officially deliver the proposal to the government and relevant agencies.

The proposal, which was unanimously adopted on December 3, calls for the creation of a new Department of Special Education at Gyeongsang National University with an additional quota, separate from existing departments, to address the collapse of local care infrastructure and the gap in education and care for people with developmental disabilities. This issue arose after the closure of Korea International University in 2023, which resulted in the disappearance of the only Department of Special Education in western South Gyeongsang, undermining the foundation for training specialized professionals.

Photo of the 2nd plenary session of Jinju City Council in progress.

Currently, there are about 2,000 registered individuals with developmental disabilities in Jinju, and the total across the nine cities and counties of western South Gyeongsang reaches approximately 5,700. However, due to the university closure, there have been difficulties in recruiting special education teachers and professionals for special schools, welfare facilities, and care institutions, putting the operation of these programs at long-term risk.

The Jinju City Council pointed out that existing Departments of Special Education in the province are concentrated in the eastern region, such as Changwon and Gimhae, and emphasized that addressing the care gap in western South Gyeongsang is an urgent issue for balanced regional development. This also supports the argument that an exceptional measure is needed to establish the department without adjusting the quotas of other departments.

Jinju City Council member Lee Gyuseop, in his explanation of the proposal, stressed, "The demand for the establishment of a Department of Special Education at a regional base university, as outlined in this proposal to the central government, is an urgent call for the state to guarantee the right to education for people with developmental disabilities and to build a sustainable welfare system for the local community."

However, the Ministry of Education is currently reducing or restricting approval for teacher training institutions due to the declining school-age population. Whether the government will accept the proposal as it is, considering the increasing number of people with disabilities including those with developmental disabilities, remains a key issue.

A council official stated, "If the proposal is adopted as government policy, we expect it will mark the first step toward breaking the deadlock in care for local people with developmental disabilities and ensuring a stable supply of special education professionals, thereby creating a virtuous cycle for disability welfare and balanced regional development."