Ministry of Education: "Receive Free EBS Textbooks for Next Year's First Semester"

Expanded to Include Education Benefit Recipients
GED and Homeschooling Students Also Eligible

The above photo is not related to the article. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] To bridge the educational gap caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) has decided to expand the eligibility for free EBS textbooks.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Education announced that starting from the 2021 academic year, it will expand the eligibility for free EBS textbooks to include recipients of educational benefits, in collaboration with EBS.

With the expansion of eligible recipients, it is expected that approximately 37,000 additional people will benefit. Currently, about 80,000 high school students from households receiving livelihood and medical benefits are supported, and the Ministry of Education anticipates this number will increase to about 120,000 by extending the scope to include educational benefit recipients.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education has broadened the support scope to allow not only high school students but also those preparing for the qualification exam (Geumjeonggosi) and homeschooling students to apply. In addition to individual applicants, the Ministry plans to establish a cooperative system with welfare organizations such as the Community Chest of Korea to support marginalized groups and out-of-school youth.

The Ministry of Education will also separately provide a customized learning management service (Dunya Learning Management Service) to help students who receive textbooks engage in self-directed learning. The ‘Dunya Learning Management Service’ is a learning guidance service provided by EBS that offers weekly study plans and ongoing planned events.

Applications for the first round of free textbooks for the first semester of next year can be submitted on the EBSi website from the 17th until January 31st. A Ministry of Education official stated, "We will actively promote this in cooperation with various organizations to ensure that as many students as possible can receive support."

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