Gwangju City to Provide 'Admission Preparation Funds' for New Elementary, Middle, and High School Students Starting Next Year

First Implementation Nationwide Including Elementary School Students

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City will provide entrance preparation funds to new students entering elementary, middle, and high schools.

On the 15th, Gwangju City announced that it had agreed to provide entrance preparation funds to first-year new students of elementary, middle, and high schools starting next year, in cooperation with autonomous districts and the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, to strengthen the public nature of education and realize universal educational welfare.

Continuous consultations have been held since July, and the project will be actively promoted after the city council approved the 2022 budget bill at the plenary session yesterday.

Each institution will enact ordinances related to the entrance preparation fund support and allocate budgets. They are also preparing to ensure that next year’s entrance preparation funds can be supported by conducting consultations on social security systems with the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The entrance preparation fund for new students was first implemented this year in Seoul for middle and high school students, and the project including elementary students is the first of its kind nationwide.

The budget for the new student entrance preparation fund project is 8.552 billion KRW, with Gwangju City, autonomous districts, and the Metropolitan Office of Education bearing 25%, 20%, and 55% respectively.

The estimated number of beneficiaries is 42,000 new students in elementary, middle, and high schools, with 100,000 KRW provided to elementary students and 250,000 KRW each to middle and high school students.

The entrance preparation funds can be used to purchase items necessary for new students’ enrollment preparation, including uniforms, daily wear, sportswear, books, and smart devices for remote classes.

Gwak Hyunmi, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of the city, said, “With COVID-19 continuing and the local economy struggling, we will support entrance preparation funds to reduce the educational expenses burden on new students’ parents and realize the strengthening of the public nature of education and universal educational welfare.”

Meanwhile, Gwangju City is promoting 23 educational cooperation projects to nurture local talent, including improving the educational environment and revitalizing educational welfare, in addition to the new student entrance preparation funds. To improve the quality of school meals, the meal prices for kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools will be raised to the national average level next year to provide better meals.

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