Increase of 700 Elementary After-School Care Classrooms for New Semester... 300,000 Users Nationwide

On the morning of the past Saturday, the 11th, a class session at the after-school care room of Hongneung Elementary School in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Ahead of the new semester, the government has decided to increase the number of after-school care classrooms in elementary schools nationwide by 700. Approximately 304,000 students, an increase of about 14,000 compared to last year, will be able to use after-school care at school.

On the 8th, the Ministry of Education announced that it will actively support after-school care in elementary schools for the 2020 academic year by implementing the "New Semester Elementary Care Classroom Operation Plan."

Elementary care classrooms provide care within the school for children of dual-income families who need after-school care. As of last year, about 290,000 students used these services in 6,117 elementary schools nationwide.

According to the "All-day Care Policy" announced in 2018, the Ministry of Education plans to expand 700 elementary care classrooms this year with additional national funding, providing care to a total of 304,000 students.

In particular, the Ministry plans to intensively expand care classrooms during the winter vacation before the new semester starts and ensure that schools facing difficulties opening in March due to asbestos removal or other construction can use alternative classrooms so that care operations are not disrupted.

Separately, each metropolitan and provincial office of education will use general grants to convert multi-purpose classrooms into exclusive care classrooms (136 rooms) and remodel old care classrooms (1,503 rooms), promoting the improvement of about 1,700 care classroom environments in total.

The government has also prepared a plan to link care acceptance by cooperating with local care institutions such as Dahamkke Care, community child centers, and youth after-school academies in areas with high demand for care classrooms, using the results of elementary care demand surveys. Schools and communities will share information on care classroom programs, instructors, and care provision hours to minimize care blind spots.

The Ministry of Education will form the "New Semester Elementary Care Classroom Operation Inspection and Support Team," led by the vice minister, to check the preparation status of metropolitan and provincial offices of education for the new semester and listen to and resolve field difficulties.

Vice Minister of Education Park Baek-beom said, "To resolve the increasing demand for care, we will continuously expand care classrooms in cooperation with metropolitan and provincial offices of education and schools, and actively support resolving field difficulties by strengthening the connection between schools and local communities in cooperation with related ministries and local governments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.