Seoul to Provide 200,000 Won for First Graders' Enrollment Preparation and Increase Classes with Fewer Than 20 Students

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education 2022 Work Plan Announcement
Nation's First Provision of Grade 1 Entrance Preparation Fund This Year
Expansion of Free Meals in Public and Private Kindergartens
Extension of Basic Academic Responsibility Guidance System to High Schools

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, is holding a press conference on the 3rd anniversary of his inauguration at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 6th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will provide 200,000 KRW as an entrance preparation fund to first graders in elementary school nationwide for the first time. It will support one smart device per new first-year middle school student and expand free meals in both public and private kindergartens.

On the 5th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced its major work plans for the 2022 academic year. Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon said, "To reduce educational environmental disparities that may arise from the start of compulsory education and to strengthen publicness, we will implement the ‘Elementary Entrance Preparation Fund’ policy nationwide for national, public, and private (including special and various types) elementary schools for the first time," adding, "Based on public education’s responsibility for basic academic skills, we will systematize the response system to guarantee basic academic skills and establish a detailed learning safety net."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will provide 200,000 KRW as an entrance preparation fund for first graders starting this year, following the funds for first-year middle and high school students. The placement rate of classes with 20 or fewer first graders will be expanded to 90% by the 2024 academic year, and for overcrowded classes that are difficult to reduce due to lack of space, support will be provided to utilize temporary teachers as cooperating teachers.

From this year, free meals will be expanded to public and private kindergartens. The scope of education expense support for elementary, middle, and high schools will be expanded. The target for tuition support in schools excluded from free education will be expanded to households with median income at or below 60%, and the support limit will be raised from 387,000 KRW to 731,000 KRW. The education guardian system, which encourages neighbors to participate in child and youth educational welfare, will be expanded to 50 districts this year.

Programs to reinforce basic academic skills will also be strengthened. Along with the unit school basic academic responsibility guidance system, the operation of multi-support teams for basic academic skills inside classrooms and schools, and learning support centers outside schools will be solidified as a three-stage learning safety net to guarantee basic academic skills. The first and second grade elementary basic academic cooperative instructors, middle school basic academic cooperative instructors, and the Kidari Saem program, which have been implemented since last year, will continue to operate.

Superintendent Cho said, "In 2022, the ‘Unit School Basic Academic Responsibility Guidance System’ currently implemented in elementary and middle schools will be expanded to high schools," and explained, "The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will establish the ‘Seoul Basic Academic Support Center’ and build a systematic support network to do its best to strengthen teachers’ capabilities."

The ‘Dibut’ project, which provides one smart device per new first-year middle school student and middle school teacher, will be implemented starting this year. AI (Artificial Intelligence) convergence-based customized education will be strengthened, supporting AI-based personalized learning for students with diverse differences. AI-centered high schools will reorganize curricula by department and major, and AI tutor pilot schools for vulnerable students such as multicultural and North Korean defector students will be expanded to 20 schools this year.

The facility improvement project ‘Seoul-type Green Smart Future School,’ which rebuilds and remodels schools over 40 years old, will be promoted reflecting the characteristics of each school through opinions collected from school members.

In line with curriculum reforms, the CLASS project will be operated to develop a class and evaluation model centered on inquiry writing that fosters critical and creative thinking. Through field-based research and application, the class and evaluation model will be generalized and spread to school sites.

To create schools safe from school violence, the paradigm of school violence work will also be changed. A system of ‘prevention - case handling - post-management (recurrence prevention and relationship restoration)’ will be established. To prevent cyber school violence, cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will operate the ‘Youth Police School’ and strengthen cooperative systems such as special education for students who commit school violence.

In response to ‘health deficits’ such as decreased physical activity and reduced basic fitness among students due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the ‘Seoul Student Health Plus Project’ will be operated to provide customized health recovery support according to life cycles.

Superintendent Cho said, "The year 2022 will be an important year to directly implement the big picture for the transition to a future education system," and added, "The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will take a meticulous approach to pave new paths and cultivate the future education that is already by our side beautifully, doing its best this year as well."

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