Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Confirms 9.742 Trillion Won Budget for Next Year... Expansion of Free High School Education and Meals

342.7 Billion KRW Less Than This Year
300,000 KRW Support Per New Middle and High School Student for Admission Assistance

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 16th that it has finalized the 2021 budget at 9.742 trillion KRW after review and approval by the Seoul Metropolitan Council. This is a decrease of 342.7 billion KRW compared to the 2020 budget (10.0847 trillion KRW).

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained, "This budget aims to respond to marginalized groups and blind spots created by COVID-19," adding, "We plan to establish universal welfare and focus on closing the academic achievement gap."

With this budget, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to complete free education for 3rd-year high school students, which began in the second semester of the 2019 academic year, by the first semester of next year. To support entrance fees, tuition, school operation costs, and textbooks, an additional 7.5 billion KRW has been allocated, totaling 262.1 billion KRW. Environmentally friendly free school meals, previously provided only up to 3rd-year high school students, will be expanded to 1st-year high school students, securing 45.27 billion KRW, an increase of 55.5 billion KRW compared to this year.

Entrance preparation funds will also be provided to reduce the economic burden on parents. A total of 32.6 billion KRW (20.5 billion KRW from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and 12.1 billion KRW from Seoul City) has been allocated to provide 300,000 KRW per new middle and high school student. New students can use the entrance preparation funds to purchase smart devices necessary for remote classes, school uniforms, gym clothes, and more.

Furthermore, to strengthen basic academic skills, 22.6 billion KRW has been allocated, an increase of 7.7 billion KRW from this year. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to assign assistant instructors for Korean, Math, and English classes in 1st and 2nd grades of elementary school and 1st grade of middle school. Additionally, it will strengthen the operation of the basic academic responsibility guidance system at individual schools and allocate additional customized support for each student.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will also support the expansion of online learning infrastructure, ICT utilization, and AI convergence education. It plans to invest 1.3 billion KRW in building the Seoul remote learning support platform, 7.7 billion KRW to expand infrastructure for public remote learning platforms such as EBS and KERIS, and 5.1 billion KRW to operate leading schools utilizing online content textbooks.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "Although the 2021 academic year budget is smaller than this year’s, it focuses on realizing social values such as publicness and accountability," adding, "We will continue to strive to ensure that Seoul students receive education in a safe and comfortable environment even in the era of COVID-19 daily life."

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