"Like Rain After a Drought" ... Ulsan Office of Education Receives High Satisfaction for Classroom Operation Fund Support

Ulsan Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Dooyul] It has been found that the class operation funds supported by the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education to aid educational recovery have been used in various ways, such as operating customized educational programs, resulting in high satisfaction among schools.

Last September, the Office of Education provided 1 million KRW per class as daily life recovery class operation funds. All 5,757 classes in elementary, middle, high schools, special schools, and various other schools were allowed to use the funds for the second semester daily life recovery support project by class.

Schools gathered community opinions to promote customized class events and various emotional recovery educational activities.

Specifically, the funds were used for class-specific events such as sports competitions, school festivals, art experience activities, and presentations; purchasing teaching aids or learning materials needed by the class; and subject-linked special programs and experiential activities.

The related budget was provided in a way that allowed convenient and flexible use according to each school's situation, allowing schools to choose between lump-sum payment or school accounting methods.

The execution rate of the class operation funds was 99.9%, with all schools except four having utilized the funds.

In an online survey conducted last February on satisfaction with the class operation fund project, 1,674 out of 1,923 homeroom teachers who responded (87.1%) answered that they were satisfied.

The reasons for high satisfaction included that homeroom teachers were able to hold class-specific events they had wanted to do, and they appreciated being able to purchase teaching materials or aids necessary for activities that improve peer relationships and increase student understanding.

They also expressed satisfaction because they could hold various small-scale events at the class level during the period when activities were restricted due to COVID-19.

Reasons for low satisfaction included sudden budget allocation and the short usage period limited to the second semester.

Lee Minjeong, a teacher at Onnam Elementary School, said, “With field trips and school excursions canceled due to COVID-19, students were greatly disappointed, so the support fund for class-level program operation was like rain after a drought.”

An official from the Office of Education stated, “We will actively consider expanding the existing class operation funds to enable the operation of various customized programs and continue to support the full educational recovery at school sites in line with daily life recovery.”

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