Scholarship Support Extended to Out-of-School Youth...Reducing Information Blind Spots

Discussion on Cooperation Including Ministry of Education and NEIS Linkage, Training for School Officials
Priority Vaccination and Other Measures for Out-of-School Youth Preparing for College Entrance

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is working to improve the system to provide scholarships to out-of-school youth who have been excluded from the scholarship support system.

On the 11th, the Ministry held the 3rd meeting of the 3rd Out-of-School Youth Support Committee to review the action plan following improvements in information linkage.

With the law to eliminate the information blind spots for out-of-school youth coming into effect in September, the ministry reported on the progress of the automatic linkage legislation and the preparation status of each department. Opinions were also gathered on the introduction and plan of a comprehensive evaluation system for Out-of-School Youth Support Centers.

Regarding the Korea Student Aid Foundation's scholarship support system, which was discussed last year as a case of discrimination against out-of-school youth, the ministry is pushing for system improvements to expand the support target from students to include out-of-school youth.

Measures to cooperate with the Ministry of Education to improve information linkage for youth who drop out of school were also discussed. Cooperation with the Ministry of Education to settle the system in schools includes supplementing the Education Administrative Information System (NEIS) and manuals, as well as training and education for school officials.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family also plans to revamp the Dream Dream Information Network, a support center linkage system, and manuals, and to strengthen customized programs and content for elementary and middle school youth.

Since last year, the ministry has provided 476,761 free meals to out-of-school youth. Out-of-school youth preparing for college entrance exams were also allowed to receive priority COVID-19 vaccination, the same as high school seniors.

By providing tailored information such as specialized vocational training, youth life records, and online and offline college entrance briefings to out-of-school youth, the ministry has increased the number of those passing the qualification exam and entering college. The number of college entrants rose from 616 in 2017 to 1,506 last year, and the number of qualification exam passers increased from 8,571 to 10,858.

Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family, said, "Despite the decrease in the school-age population, the number of youth discontinuing their studies is increasing annually, and the need for systematic support and demands for eliminating discrimination against out-of-school youth are growing. We will gather opinions from various sectors to establish support centers as public support institutions for out-of-school youth and strengthen follow-up measures and cooperation among agencies."

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