Fruit Meals and Electronic Whiteboard Installation... Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's Budget for Next Year 12.8 Trillion Won

21.7% Increase Over This Year's Budget
5% Raise in Meal Support Unit Price
Electronic Whiteboards Expanded from 5th Grade to 12th Grade

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has prepared a budget of 12.8 trillion KRW for next year, including expenses for supporting fruit meals and installing electronic whiteboards, considering the rise in prices.

On the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that the 2023 main budget was set at 12.8915 trillion KRW, an increase of 2.3029 trillion KRW (21.7%) compared to this year.

Following the Ministry of Education's policy, a 970 billion KRW Integrated Education Finance Stabilization Fund was newly established, and items such as ▲expansion of electronic whiteboard installation ▲support for fruit meals and increase in meal cost per unit ▲support for the school space autonomous planning project were reflected. The Integrated Education Finance Stabilization Fund refers to a budget secured in advance to prepare for the reduction of local education finances due to an economic downturn.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education formulated the budget focusing on creating a safe educational environment, strengthening responsible education, and transitioning to a future education system. For "creating a safe and healthy educational environment," 1.7468 trillion KRW was allocated. A total of 130.3 billion KRW will be spent on the "Dajeongdagam School Space Autonomous Planning Project," a school-customized educational environment improvement project where schools autonomously establish mid- to long-term plans to improve the educational environment. An average of 100 million KRW per school, with an average of 500 million KRW supported annually until 2026. 826.7 billion KRW will be used to improve aging facilities such as restrooms, heating and cooling systems, and seismic reinforcement, and 120.3 billion KRW was allocated to strengthen support for environment, hygiene, and quarantine, including school cleaning services and budgets for school quarantine in preparation for infectious disease outbreaks.

Reflecting the recent sharp rise in prices, the meal cost support unit price was increased by 5% compared to the previous year, and additional support for fruit meals was provided. Until now, some of the school meal budget was used to provide fruit and desserts, but due to concerns about the decline in meal quality caused by price increases, the meal cost per unit for fruit provision will be calculated separately. The total budget for free meals and fruit meal support is 600.8 billion KRW, with 68.7 billion KRW invested in meal facility improvements and replacement of aging cooking equipment.

To "strengthen responsible education supporting everyone's growth and recovery," a total of 313.9 billion KRW was allocated. For recovering the middle layer of learning and supporting social recovery due to COVID-19 educational deficits, 67.6 billion KRW was allocated, and 53.8 billion KRW was set aside to guarantee basic academic skills through programs like Kidari Saem and the elementary and secondary basic academic responsibility system. For supporting after-school care and extracurricular activities, 58.5 billion KRW was allocated, and 134 billion KRW was allocated for elementary, middle, and high school entrance preparation funds, meal support for low-income families, and establishing an educational welfare safety net.

A total of 417 billion KRW will be invested in digital transition support such as electronic whiteboard installation, Seoul-style reading debate education, and future-oriented curriculum operation including future convergence mathematics and science. The Office of Education decided to expand the electronic whiteboard installation project, which was previously conducted for first-year middle school students, to include public, private, and various schools from fifth grade of elementary school to third grade of high school, as well as special schools. The budget for electronic whiteboard installation was set at 159.1 billion KRW.

The "Dibut" project, which provides smart devices, will also expand its target from first-year middle school students to include first-year high school students, with a total of 296.7 billion KRW spent on digital transition support. Additionally, 56.5 billion KRW will be invested in future-oriented curricula such as Seoul-style reading debate education and future convergence mathematics operation support. 63.8 billion KRW was allocated for creating spaces for the high school credit system and establishing artificial intelligence (AI) classrooms.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "The 2023 main budget focuses on ensuring students' safety and health, strengthening educational responsibility such as guaranteeing basic academic skills, and actively promoting the transition to a future education system. We have reflected the demands from the field and, for the first time, allocated school-centered customized educational environment improvement project funds in the 2023 basic school operation expenses."

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