Seoul to Recruit 19 More 'Green Smart Future Schools'... Strengthening Parental Consent Requirements

19 Schools to be Added for Recruitment Due to Project Withdrawal Vacancies
11 Schools to be Rebuilt, 8 Schools to be Remodeled Selected
Application Possible Only with Majority Parent Consent

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is calling for applications from 19 schools to be selected as targets for the 'Green Smart Future School' project, which involves rebuilding aging schools. This is to find new project targets to replace those that were withdrawn due to opposition from parents among previously selected schools.

On the 21st, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it will hold a call for applications for 11 schools for rebuilding and 8 schools for remodeling under the Green Smart Future School project.

Eligibility for application includes public and private schools that have been completed over 40 years ago. Among private schools, autonomous tuition schools such as private elementary schools, international middle schools, autonomous private high schools, and foreign language high schools are excluded. Through a two-month deliberation process within the school, more than half of all parents must participate, and the majority of participants must agree. Then, the school operation committee's review (for private schools, advisory by the school operation committee and approval by the board of directors) must be completed. Applications must be submitted by January 14 of next year.

The application types are divided into rebuilding and remodeling. Rebuilding includes ▲ schools selected as rebuilding project targets for 2023-2025 that wish to advance the project to 2022 ▲ schools selected for remodeling in 2021 that wish to change to rebuilding in 2022 ▲ schools applying for the project newly. If remodeling is desired, schools can apply for the project newly.

Selection will be made through quantitative evaluation followed by comprehensive evaluation. Each education support office (for private schools, the Education Facilities Management Headquarters) conducts quantitative evaluation based on building aging, safety grade, seismic performance, and asbestos presence. Then, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will comprehensively evaluate factors such as the school's willingness to proceed, local conditions, fewer difficulties in construction promotion, areas with delayed regional development, and relative preference.

Priority will be given in order of the highest final combined score, and after review by the 'Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Future School Promotion Council,' which includes external experts, approval will be requested from the Ministry of Education as a 2022 project target. If selected as a 2022 rebuilding project target, preliminary procedures such as pre-planning, architectural design, and various reviews (taking about two years) will be conducted, with construction starting in 2025.

This time, due to opposition from some schools that applied without parental consent during the previous selection process, the parental consent requirement has been significantly strengthened in this project target call. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "Among the existing project targets, in some schools where parental opposition was severe, after communication and deliberation on the necessity and promotion plan of the project, two-thirds of parents agreed to proceed with rebuilding."

According to a Seoul education policy public opinion survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education last October, 90.3% of 1,000 Seoul citizens aged 18 or older responded that "rebuilding or remodeling is necessary for aging schools."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said, "We will actively communicate with schools, parents, and students so that students can live and grow in comfortable and safe schools," adding, "Above all, we will prioritize preventing academic loss due to rebuilding and remodeling and securing student safety measures during construction, and strive to successfully promote the Green Smart Future School project."

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