Cho Hee-yeon Proposes "Mandatory Education for 4-5 Year-Old Children"... "Additional Budget of 3.5 Trillion Won Needed" (Comprehensive)

Proposal for Mandatory and Free Education Transition for Ages 4-5
Suggestion to Integrate Daycare for Ages 0-3 and Early Childhood Schools for Ages 4-5
Gradual Expansion of Placement Rate with 20 or Fewer Students per Grade 1 Class
Currently 39.1% → Next Year 56.6% → 90% by 2024

On the 22nd, when schools nationwide including the Seoul metropolitan area began full in-person attendance, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon welcomed students at Geumyang Elementary School in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. According to the "Step-by-step Recovery Plan for the Education Sector" announced by the Ministry of Education on the 29th of last month, from this day, 97% of kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools started full in-person attendance. Overcrowded and densely populated schools adjust attendance density through staggered attendance or limiting to two-thirds capacity. All first and second graders in elementary school attend in person, more than three-quarters of third to sixth graders attend, and more than two-thirds of middle and high school students attend in person. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, proposed converting early childhood education for 4- to 5-year-olds into compulsory education. He also plans to reduce the number of students per first-grade class to 20 or fewer in 90% of Seoul elementary schools by 2024.

On the 25th, Superintendent Cho announced the "Plan to Guarantee a High-Quality Starting Line" for early childhood and elementary education at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stating, "It is time for a paradigm shift that dramatically increases the national responsibility for early childhood care and education," and added, "I hope presidential candidates from both parties actively consider this issue."

According to Superintendent Cho's proposal, if the government covers early childhood tuition fees, it is expected to cost approximately 6.2306 trillion KRW nationwide to implement compulsory education for 4- to 5-year-olds. Even if it is not implemented at the national level, Superintendent Cho believes it is possible to first conduct a pilot project in Seoul and then expand it nationwide.

He said, "Currently, the early childhood education budget is 2.7 trillion KRW, and the additional required budget is estimated at 3.48 trillion KRW," adding, "If compulsory early childhood education is realized, it should naturally be guaranteed through the education office's finances within the grant system, but this alone is insufficient, so a national financial procurement plan for compulsory early childhood education must be established."

Superintendent Cho also suggested unifying care for ages 0 to 3 at daycare centers and early childhood education for ages 4 to 5 at early childhood schools. The idea is to bifurcate the system into a care system for ages 0 to 3 managed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, local governments, and daycare centers, and an education system for ages 4 to 5 connected to the Ministry of Education, education offices, and kindergartens.

To establish a foundation for compulsory education, 20 additional public kindergartens will be established next year, and support will be provided for the incorporation of private kindergartens. Since 2019, 52 kindergartens (including branches and conversions to standalone schools) have been newly established. Private kindergartens and daycare centers meeting certain standards can be converted into early childhood schools.

If converted to compulsory education, issues such as securing the public nature of private kindergartens and the status and treatment of teachers must also be discussed. Superintendent Cho said, "There is a plan for daycare teachers who have experienced the Nuri Curriculum to transition through additional training to some extent, but it is a very complex issue," adding, "Discussion at the level of the National Education Commission is necessary."

A Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education official said, "Kindergartens are already classified as schools, and if 4- to 5-year-olds enter compulsory education, treatment at the level of public kindergartens should be assumed," adding, "The public aspect must also be guaranteed in private kindergartens, and since Edufine has been fully introduced in private kindergartens and audits and the Early Childhood Food Service Act have been applied, preparation in terms of work systems is also being systematically carried out."

Superintendent Cho said, "There is a need for national-level unity in education, and regarding system and space issues, the number of students is rapidly decreasing, and private kindergartens can restructure space through support, while larger daycare centers can establish systems or environments capable of operating early childhood schools."

On the 22nd, when schools nationwide including the Seoul metropolitan area began full in-person attendance, students were attending school at Geumyang Elementary School in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. According to the "Step-by-Step Plan for Restoring Daily Life in the Education Sector" announced by the Ministry of Education on the 29th of last month, from this day, 97% of kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools started full in-person attendance. In overcrowded schools, attendance density is adjusted through staggered attendance or limiting to two-thirds capacity. All first and second graders in elementary school attend in person, at least three-quarters of third to sixth graders attend, and at least two-thirds of middle and high school students can attend in person. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will also gradually expand the placement of first-grade classes with 20 or fewer students. Superintendent Cho said, "From next year, we have secured an additional 80 to 100 classrooms mainly in schools with available classrooms."

Currently, the proportion of schools with 20 or fewer students per class is about 39.1% (public elementary schools), but the goal is to increase this to 56.6% next year, 70.1% in 2023, and 90% by 2024. It is estimated that in Seoul, 227 schools can reduce class size to 20 or fewer by adding one class, and 63 schools require adding two classes.

Lee Byung-ho, Director of Educational Administration at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "It is difficult to expand this to other grades, and the aim is to reduce the number of students per first-grade class to provide focused support for students entering school for the first time," adding, "Considering each school's circumstances, it will be possible to increase the number of classes by converting special classrooms, expanding classrooms, or increasing classes one school at a time."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has allocated 12.5 billion KRW in next year's main budget for facility costs, equipment costs, and personnel expenses to secure additional first-grade classes. The number of classes per school will be finalized in January next year, considering application demand and school and teacher conditions. Homeroom teachers will be assigned from regular teaching staff.

Superintendent Cho said, "To resolve overcrowded classes in Seoul and expand the policy of 20 or fewer students per class to all grades, balanced school and student placement and fostering appropriately sized schools are necessary," adding, "For this, bold increases in teaching staff and financial investment are required, and government administrative and financial support is essential."

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