‘School Left by Children’ Revived... Gyeongnam Office of Education Opens Public Recruitment for Closed School Property Utilization Project

Applications to Education Support Office by March 10

21 Schools for Sale, Lease, or Internal Use

Gyeongnam Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education is once again accelerating efforts to utilize closed schools this year by publicly recruiting for the ‘Closed School Property Utilization Project.’

The recruitment is conducted under the slogan ‘Opening Closed Schools to Connect Hearts in the Local Community,’ targeting local residents and local governments within the province.

Last year, the Gyeongnam Office of Education promoted the ‘2131 Project’ to reduce unused closed schools in the province by 31% in order to enhance the management of shared assets and the efficiency of local education finances.

They achieved results by utilizing a total of 32 closed schools, including the sale of 15 schools, new leasing of 12 schools, and self-utilization of 5 schools.

As of February this year, 74 schools remain unused, and this year has been designated as the ‘Year of Closed School Utilization with Local Residents.’ The office has established plans for the utilization and management of closed school properties and requested cooperation from education support offices and local governments.

By gathering opinions from the field through briefings for local residents and meetings with local governments, they plan to utilize a total of 21 schools: 7 for sale, 11 for leasing, and 3 for self-utilization.

The utilization projects will be operated with local village communities taking charge of management, local governments providing necessary financial and human resources support, and the Gyeongnam Office of Education supporting basic facilities such as free leasing.

More than 50% of residents within the school district at the time of closure must form a village community in the form of a cooperative or village association and use the school for purposes that benefit resident welfare facilities or regional economic revitalization, such as local tourism, health and healing, or income-increasing projects.

Project proposals must be submitted to each city and county education support office by March 10, and after consultation with local governments, they should include specific project directions and plans to secure stable and continuous facility provision, personnel, and other resources.

Based on the project proposals, the Gyeongnam Office of Education plans to select 2 to 3 schools by the end of March after conducting field surveys considering the operating entity, project specificity, scale of city/county support, and mutual growth effects.

An education office official stated, “Considering the reality of difficulties in utilization due to aging populations and financial issues in areas with closed schools, collaboration between the education office and local governments to support budgets and personnel will bring vitality to the region.”

Finance Director Hwang Dulsuk said, “For the public recruitment project to succeed, active participation from local residents in utilizing closed schools and proactive support from local governments are essential. The utilization of closed schools will serve as a model case for regions facing the crisis of population extinction.”

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