Assemblyman Yoon Young-deok, Ministry of Education's 'Smart School Banking' Project Stalled

Only 3 Schools Adopted Among Over 11,000 Elementary, Middle, and High Schools Nationwide

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Ministry of Education's plan to fully implement the 'Smart School Banking' project in the second semester for the convenience of parents has been sluggish.

According to data submitted by Congressman Yoon Young-deok (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dongnam-gap) from the Ministry of Education on the 12th, only three schools in the Jeonnam region have introduced 'Smart School Banking' out of about 11,000 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide.

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) promoted that by launching the next-generation K-Edufine in January this year, 'Smart School Banking,' which allows electronic bill printing and electronic payment nationwide in elementary, middle, and high schools, enables parents to check and pay education fee bills anytime and anywhere.

'Smart School Banking' is a system that automatically transfers various payments required by schools from parents' accounts to school accounts via smartphones.

Previously, parents had to go to banks to pay tuition, meal fees, after-school learning fees, field trip fees, etc., or register and manage school banking automatic transfers, which was cumbersome.

However, the Ministry of Education stated that the plan was changed this year because various payments that parents had to bear decreased due to COVID-19.

In response, parents reportedly expressed dissatisfaction, saying that postponing the introduction of 'Smart School Banking' now using COVID-19 as an excuse, after promoting it earlier, is a typical desk administration.

Congressman Yoon Young-deok said, "The inconvenience to parents due to the delay in introducing 'Smart School Banking' is considerable," and added, "The introduction of 'Smart School Banking' is necessary to improve parents' convenience and enhance the efficiency of educational administration."

He continued, "Although Ministry of Education policies can be changed or reduced depending on the situation, careful consideration is needed to inform policy beneficiaries of the changes."

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