"Providing Education in a Comfortable Environment" ... Busan Office of Education Establishes 85 Modular Classrooms in 9 Schools, Operating from March

Kim Seok-jun, Superintendent of Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, is visiting Centem Elementary School in Haeundae-gu to inspect the completed modular classrooms.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education will establish 85 modular (prefabricated) classrooms in 9 elementary schools.

The modular classrooms are intended to alleviate overcrowded classes and will be operational from the new semester starting in March this year.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education has been actively responding to the COVID-19 situation and preparing customized solutions to alleviate overcrowded classes according to each school's conditions for future education in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

For schools in overcrowded areas where long-term overcrowding persists, plans are in place to resolve overcrowding through classroom reallocation, teacher building expansions, and new school establishments.

For schools where dispersed allocation is difficult and short-term overcrowding continues, the number of students and school conditions will be reviewed to alleviate overcrowding through 'modular classrooms.'

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education allocated a budget of 3.3 billion KRW in 2021 and 7.3 billion KRW this year for the establishment of modular classrooms.

The education office selected 9 elementary schools where installation conditions were feasible after gathering opinions from the respective school education communities and proceeded with bidding and construction.

The schools with modular classrooms are Nammyung Elementary (3 rooms), Myeongji Elementary (10 rooms), Sinmyung Elementary (10 rooms), Ocean Elementary (10 rooms), Oncheon Elementary (6 rooms), Mojon Elementary (8 rooms), Banggok Elementary (14 rooms), Centum Elementary (12 rooms), and Haewon Elementary (12 rooms).

Including Myeongwon Elementary School, which was the first to establish 12 modular classrooms in Busan in 2021, a total of 10 schools with 97 modular classrooms are operating in the Busan area.

The modular classrooms at Myeongwon Elementary received great support from parents who had a negative perception of temporary structures.

Other provincial education offices have visited multiple times to benchmark this as an advanced case.

Modular classrooms are made from eco-friendly materials and are an improved form compared to existing container classrooms, which are vulnerable to insulation and soundproofing issues.

They provide a cleaner exterior, higher ceiling height, large windows for lighting and ventilation, and system air conditioning with built-in air purification devices, offering a more comfortable educational environment.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education enhanced the safety of modular classrooms by installing sprinklers in each room and equipping them with fire extinguishers and emergency alarm facilities, identical to those in regular classrooms.

Superintendent Kim Seok-jun stated, “We will promote specific overcrowding alleviation measures for individual schools based on student number trends and apartment development plans to ensure all students can receive education in a comfortable environment.”

In the Busan area, although the school-age population is decreasing, student concentration continues in specific areas such as new towns.

Overcrowded classes exceeding the Ministry of Education’s standard of 28 students per class are appearing in some areas including Myeongji and Jeonggwan new towns, Dongnae, and Haeundae.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education plans to install modular classrooms in schools experiencing overcrowding by actively reflecting the opinions of the school field.

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