Chungnam to Fully Expand Free Education for Ages 0 to High School Seniors Starting Next Year

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Starting next year, free education will be fully expanded in Chungnam Province from age 0 to 3rd year of high school.

According to Chungnam Province on the 24th, the province and the Chungnam Office of Education have agreed to fully implement free childcare for children in daycare centers and free education for children in private kindergartens within the jurisdiction starting next year.

Chungnam is the first case to support kindergarten fees for private kindergartens.

First, the province will expand support for the difference in childcare fees for government non-supported facilities to the government standard childcare fee level starting next year. The support target is 14,230 children, and the additional monthly support amount per child is KRW 54,450 for age 3, KRW 31,240 for age 4, and KRW 21,780 for age 5.

In addition, starting next year, the province will expand the target for public-type daycare center education environment improvement expenses from only age 5 to ages 3 to 5, and will support wages for daycare helpers and increase the minimum hourly wage rate.

Also, the allowance for childcare teachers dedicated to children with disabilities will be raised from the current KRW 50,000 to KRW 100,000, and a new support of KRW 50,000 for improving the working environment of infant-dedicated childcare teachers at home daycare centers will be established.

The total budget required for this is estimated at KRW 80 billion, which is KRW 15.1 billion more than this year (KRW 64.9 billion).

The increased budget by item is divided into KRW 22.1 billion for full support of standard education fees for government non-supported facilities, KRW 10.7 billion for teacher wage support at government-supported facilities, KRW 21.8 billion for daycare helper wage support, and KRW 15 billion for daycare staff work allowance support.

Support for childcare of private kindergarten children will also increase. Currently, the Office of Education supports KRW 157,600 per child by excluding the government subsidy of KRW 290,400 from the standard education cost of KRW 448,000 for 5-year-old children in private kindergartens.

However, starting next year, the target for childcare support in private kindergartens will be expanded to all children aged 3 to 5. Also, the standard early childhood education cost will increase to KRW 557,000 next year, and the monthly support per child is expected to be KRW 193,000.

The total budget required for this is KRW 32.6 billion, and the Office of Education plans to share the budget with the province to cover the costs.

Meanwhile, the province, the Office of Education, and the Chungnam Provincial Council signed an agreement in July 2018 and have implemented three major free education programs since 2019: free high school education, free high school meals, and free middle school uniforms.

Last year, they supported eco-friendly food costs for daycare centers, completing free meals from age 0 to 3rd year of high school.

Yang Seung-jo, Governor of Chungnam Province, said, “Chungnam will make next year the inaugural year of free childcare and ensure that the province and cities/counties fully cover childcare fees for children.”

Kim Ji-chul, Superintendent of Chungnam Office of Education, emphasized, “With the full implementation of free education in private kindergartens, starting next year, Chungnam will be the first in the nation to complete free education and free meals from kindergarten through high school.”

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