20 Seoul-Type Alternative Education Institutions Designated to Guarantee Learning Rights for 'Out-of-School Youth'

Seoul City Expands Financial Support for Rent and Teacher Salaries... Aiming to Increase to 50 Locations by 2022

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] On the 24th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has designated 20 "Seoul-type alternative education institutions" to guarantee equal learning rights comparable to public education for out-of-school youth attending unlicensed alternative education institutions.

Considering that most unlicensed alternative education institutions currently face poor financial conditions to the extent that even basic learning rights are difficult to provide, the focus was placed on two objectives: expanding financial support and strengthening the capacity of alternative education institutions.

For the Seoul-type alternative education institutions selected this time, the city will support up to 70% of the rent, and will increase the support for teacher salaries and program development costs, which are currently provided to unlicensed alternative education institutions, by up to 2 times and 9 times respectively.

Additionally, youth attending alternative education institutions will be able to join the "Safety Accident Compensation Mutual Aid Association" to receive compensation in case of safety accidents on campus, just like students in regular schools.

Along with support for eco-friendly meal costs and newly established subsidies for educational space rental fees, customized consulting for each institution will be provided to enhance the quality of educational services at alternative education institutions, and teacher training, education, and utilization of public infrastructure connections will also be expanded.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to start with 20 institutions this year and convert at least 50 unlicensed alternative education institutions into "Seoul-type" by 2022.

Furthermore, to increase the diversity and professionalism of the curriculum, through related ordinance amendments, the usage fees for 25 municipal youth centers in Seoul will be reduced, granting the same benefits as those in the formal school system.

Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, emphasized, "Although elementary and middle schools are compulsory education and high school education will be free starting next year, out-of-school youth find it difficult to guarantee basic learning rights simply because they chose alternative education instead of public education. We will ensure that the right to learn is guaranteed without discrimination to the 10,000 out-of-school youth who drop out annually for various reasons, just like students within the formal education system."

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