Assemblyman Yoon Young-deok: "It Is Time for the State to Take Responsibility for Guaranteeing the Health and Learning Rights of Students with Disabilities"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Congressman Yoon Young-deok (The Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dongnam-gap) emphasized that it is time for the state to take responsibility for guaranteeing the health rights and learning rights of students with disabilities.

On the 16th, Congressman Yoon questioned the budget for educational assistants in special schools and classes, as well as the vaccination plan for special education teachers and educational assistants, during the Ministry of Education’s supplementary budget review plenary session.

Congressman Yoon said, “From this semester, the government policy has been to fully reopen schools for students with disabilities. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, special education teachers alone are far from sufficient to provide education and safety guidance for students with disabilities.”

He continued, “Announcing the principle of full reopening for students with disabilities reflects the national will for special education, but allocating only 40% of the budget for assistants from the national treasury implies that the state’s commitment to special education is only 40%. I question whether this budget allocation method is appropriate for the COVID-19 period.”

The supplementary budget submitted by the Ministry of Education stipulates that of the total 27.53 billion KRW required for ‘temporary support of assistants for quarantine and other tasks in special schools (classes),’ 40% is to be covered by the national treasury and 60% by the local education offices.

Congressman Yoon reviewed the Ministry of Education’s vaccination plan for teachers and assistants in special schools and classes.

He urged the Ministry of Education, “Please ensure that vaccination proceeds smoothly for the existing 13,000 assistants working in special schools and classes, as well as the additional approximately 3,500 assistants to be added through budget allocation.”

He added, “For students with disabilities attending school fully in person, there should be no inconvenience, and parents sending their children to school should not worry. From expanding assistants to vaccination, everything must be carried out in a timely manner.”

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