“Joint Purchase Saved 6.5 Billion Won”

Gyeongnam Office of Education Saves Budget Through Integrated Contracts
Ensuring Transparency and Fairness in Contracts, Reducing School Workload

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kang Sharon] The Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education announced on the 29th that it saved 6.58 billion KRW in budget this year as a result of promoting the 'Integrated Contract (Joint Purchase)'.

The integrated contract is a joint contract pursued by the provincial Office of Education and Education Support Offices for goods and services needed by individual schools to reduce school workload and save budget.

When the specifications and delivery times of goods needed by schools are similar, the provincial Office of Education (Education Support Offices) proceeds with the contract using platforms such as the Korea ON-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS), allowing schools to omit the purchasing procedures, thereby achieving workload reduction and securing transparency in contracts.

Additionally, by establishing a fair contract culture that provides companies with fair opportunities and information, the soundness of educational finances was promoted.

In particular, this year, an integrated contract was pursued for 15,989 computers for remote learning support across 18 Education Support Offices, amounting to approximately 14.92 billion KRW, saving about 4 billion KRW compared to individual purchases.

Hwang Dulsuk, Director of the Finance and Welfare Division, said, “The implementation of the integrated contract has achieved great results not only in budget savings but also in simplifying school administrative tasks,” and added, “We plan to expand and supplement the scope of integrated contracts to reflect field opinions and provide practical assistance in the future.”

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