Jeon Nam Provincial Assembly Member Lee Hyuk-je to Provide Education Allowance for Out-of-School Youth

Lee Hyuk-je, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeollanam-do Provincial Council announced on the 15th that the "Partial Amendment Ordinance of Jeollanam-do Office of Education School Out-of-School Youth Education Support Ordinance," which was proposed by Representative Lee Hyuk-je, passed the Education Committee of the 346th extraordinary session on the 8th, and starting next year, a certain amount of education participation allowance will be provided to out-of-school youth.

This ordinance newly establishes the basis for providing education participation allowances that can support transportation expenses, textbook fees, and self-development expenses to practically assist out-of-school youth in returning to school or participating in career development programs.

The number of students who dropped out of school in Jeollanam-do over the past three years totals 4,055, of which only 2,817 are registered at the Out-of-School Youth Support Center.

However, support for registered youth remains minimal, and field workers believe it does not provide substantial help.

In response, Representative Lee Hyuk-je has consistently raised concerns about the lack of interest from local governments and the Office of Education regarding out-of-school youth and has demanded measures to address this issue.

Especially during the 341st extraordinary session's provincial administration and education administration questioning, he made the executive branch aware of the poor conditions of the "Jeonnam Out-of-School Youth Support Center" and strongly emphasized the necessity of introducing education participation allowances for out-of-school youth, persuading Governor Kim Young-rok and Superintendent Jang Seok-woong, thereby urging the local community to pay attention to out-of-school youth.

Jeollanam-do and the Jeollanam-do Office of Education plan to allocate about 600 million KRW in the 2021 main budget for the payment of education participation allowances for out-of-school youth. This amount corresponds to about 30% of the youth registered at the Out-of-School Youth Support Center, and they plan to increase the number of beneficiaries annually.

When Jeollanam-do and the Jeollanam-do Office of Education begin providing education participation allowances for out-of-school youth next year, they will become the fourth metropolitan local government among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide to implement this, following Seoul, Daejeon, and Jeonbuk.

Representative Lee Hyuk-je stated, "Among youth registered at the local out-of-school youth centers who participate in programs at least twice a week, elementary level students will receive 50,000 KRW per month, middle school level 100,000 KRW per month, and high school level 200,000 KRW per month in the form of a check card," emphasizing, "The education participation allowance goes beyond mere financial support; it serves as a stepping stone toward returning to public education or employment and expresses our society's interest in out-of-school youth."

Since 2006, Representative Lee Hyuk-je has devoted himself to educational donation movements and received the Korea Education Donation Award in 2017. After being elected as a provincial council member, he has passionately pursued policies for youth, receiving the "Youth Hope Award" for his active legislative activities for students and youth.

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