[2021 Budget] Ministry of Education to Strengthen Remote Classes and Fully Promote Green Smart Future Schools

Budget of 76.3332 Trillion KRW Allocated for Ministry of Education

Strengthening Learning Safety Net and Full Free High School Education

Yoo Eun-hye: "Expanding Remote Education Materials and Securing Learning Safety Net Are Top Priorities"

Yoo Eun-hye, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is speaking at the 'Related Agencies Inspection Meeting to Strengthen Metropolitan Area School Quarantine' held at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 24th of last month. This meeting was organized to seek cooperation measures to ensure student safety and stable academic operations at schools amid the escalation to social distancing level 2 due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The operation of non-face-to-face remote classes in schools will be further strengthened, and the 'Green Smart Future School,' one of the Korean New Deal policies, will be fully promoted.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 1st that the '2021 Budget Proposal' containing these details has passed the Cabinet meeting.

To promote the policy, the 2021 Ministry of Education budget proposal was set at 76.3332 trillion won, an increase of 601.5 billion won (0.8%) compared to the 75.7317 trillion won in the third supplementary budget of 2020. Compared to this year's budget, it decreased by 1.0539 trillion won.

The 2021 budget proposal under the Ministry of Education focuses on ▲supporting the operation of non-face-to-face remote education in schools and strengthening the learning safety net ▲promoting Green Smart Future Schools ▲implementing free education for all high school grades ▲strengthening the competitiveness of university education.

To operate remote education for elementary, middle, high schools, and universities, the budget for the textbook pilot project using online-based educational content will be significantly increased from 12.8 billion won to 48.7 billion won. In particular, remote education materials will be produced and provided for students with disabilities and multicultural students, and a national-level basic academic ability dedicated institution will be operated to strengthen the learning safety net.

Starting next year, the Green Smart School project will be fully launched to convert 536 old elementary, middle, and high school buildings into digital-based eco-friendly spaces. For this, a new budget of 86.8 billion won has been allocated. Additionally, the foundation for operating online higher and lifelong education services such as the Korean Massive Open Online Course (K-MOOC) and university remote education support centers will be further expanded. To nurture talent in new technology fields, projects supporting the operation of digital innovation shared universities will be expanded, and Meister Universities that help the growth of specialized technical talents will be piloted.

The above photo is not related to the article. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Due to the full implementation of free education in high schools, the budget has increased somewhat, and the beneficiaries of work scholarships and excellent scholarships have been expanded, and the burden of education expenses has been partially reduced through the lowering of student loan interest rates.

Meanwhile, the budget related to early childhood and elementary and secondary education has decreased compared to the previous year. The special account for early childhood education support decreased by 8.4% (335.3 billion won), and local education finance grants decreased by 0.4%. A Ministry of Education official explained, "In the case of early childhood education support, the unit cost per infant and toddler remains the same, but the number of children has decreased, so the budget has decreased," and "Local education finance grants are linked to domestic taxes, but since national tax forecasts are expected to decrease compared to the previous year, this was taken into account."

A budget for supporting private school innovation projects has also been newly allocated. The Ministry of Education will support the operation of private school corporations and the growth of sound private schools and expand regional innovation projects based on cooperation between local governments and universities. For private school innovation support projects, 5.3 billion won has been allocated, and for regional innovation projects, the number of supported regions has increased from three to four, providing about 70 billion won more in support.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "As online and offline classes continue to be conducted in parallel, we prioritized expanding remote education materials and securing a learning safety net by reflecting urgent demands from the field," adding, "Through the smooth promotion of the Korean New Deal in the education sector, we will transform schools into flexible learning spaces capable of future-oriented teaching and learning, and prepare various projects to enhance the competitiveness of Korea's higher and lifelong education in digital and non-face-to-face environments."

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