Gyeonggi-do Launches 3-Year Pilot Project to Support Lifelong Education for People with Developmental Disabilities

Photo by Moon Ho-nam

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Gyeonggi Province will implement the 'Gyeonggi Province-type Lifelong Education Support Center Pilot Project for People with Developmental Disabilities' for three years starting this year to guarantee lifelong learning rights for people with developmental disabilities.

On the 21st, the province announced, "A total of 4 billion KRW will be invested by 2023 to establish the center and build a support system, and it plans to open centers in Siheung, Uijeongbu, and Guri by March this year."

The Gyeonggi Province-type Lifelong Education Support Center for People with Developmental Disabilities is an educational support institution planned by the province to guarantee lifelong learning rights for adult people with developmental disabilities and to assist their adaptation to the local community and independence.

Through this project, the province plans to develop and distribute lifelong education programs for all people with developmental disabilities in the province.

Additionally, the project will concurrently conduct ▲ research and surveys on lifelong education for people with developmental disabilities ▲ performance management of related institutions such as city and county lifelong education support centers for people with developmental disabilities ▲ training of experts (instructors, volunteers, etc.) ▲ collection and provision of lifelong education information ▲ awareness improvement and promotional activities for lifelong education for people with developmental disabilities.

To this end, the province plans to conduct a demand survey on lifelong education for people with developmental disabilities, form a policy council, and focus on training professional personnel to establish the foundation of a 'customized lifelong education support system for people with developmental disabilities.'

The three cities selected as pilot project areas (Siheung, Uijeongbu, Guri) will serve as lifelong education support centers for people with developmental disabilities in their regions and will support ▲ counseling and service linkage for lifelong education for people with developmental disabilities ▲ discovery of lifelong education resources (idle spaces, facilities, etc.) in the region ▲ management of user histories and monitoring of service usage.

As of the end of last year, about 560,000 people with disabilities reside in the province, of which approximately 54,000 are people with developmental disabilities.

They require continuous lifelong education such as social adaptation skills, but after graduating from school, most of their time is spent at home with limited opportunities for learning or social participation. This increases the burden on families and leads to ongoing social problems such as suicide among them.

Lee Byung-woo, Director of Welfare for the Province, said, "We will do our best to develop and distribute lifelong education tailored to the individual characteristics of people with developmental disabilities by utilizing human and material resources within the community rather than focusing on facilities."

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