Degree Acquisition Possible Even Without Being a University Student... Enhanced Lifelong Learning Support for Ages 30-50

Ministry of Education to Announce 'Lifelong Learning Promotion Plan' on 28th
Promotion of Degree Conferral for University Non-Degree Course Credits
Consideration of 'Lifelong Learning' Leave Guarantee and Leave System Introduction

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho is announcing the "Lifelong Learning Promotion Plan" (2023?2027) at the Government Seoul Office on the 28th. Photo by the Ministry of Education

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] In the future, not only university students but also the general public will be able to take non-degree courses offered by universities and earn degrees. Plans to support lifelong learning counseling and leave systems for people in their 30s to 50s will also be promoted.

On the 28th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho announced the "Lifelong Learning Promotion Plan" (2023?2027) centered on these contents at the Government Seoul Office. The Ministry of Education explained that this plan aims to guarantee lifelong learning, which has been perceived as a benevolent welfare, as a practical right of the people and to strengthen lifelong learning policies centered on local governments and universities.

First, the Ministry of Education plans to transform the university education environment, which mainly targets school-age students. The degree programs, mainly for new students in their 20s, will be expanded to institutions that provide quality re-education to the entire population. To this end, the Ministry will establish a system that allows general adults, not just enrolled students, to take various non-degree courses such as short-term courses lasting 1 to 3 months offered by universities and accumulate credits to earn degrees.

Support will also be provided to local government-formed cooperation systems (consortia, etc.) between local governments, universities, and companies to take charge of lifelong education for local residents. Local governments will be supported to promote lifelong learning policies tailored to their characteristics (industrial characteristics, demographic geography, learning infrastructure conditions), strengthening cooperation between central and local governments so that lifelong learning can play a significant role in improving local living conditions, national balanced development, and preventing regional extinction. The Ministry of Education expects that if this system is activated, the quality of life of local residents will improve and it will also contribute to national balanced development.

Comprehensive support will be provided for learning counseling, time, cost, and content targeting the 30-50 age group, the "waist" of Korea's population structure. To guarantee lifelong learning for the 30-50 age group who need job change and career transition education, public discussion on the introduction of a "lifelong learning leave system" will be initiated. According to a 2021 survey by the Korea Educational Development Institute (KDI), the number one reason (40.3%) for not participating in lifelong learning was "lack of time due to work," and this plan aims to solve such problems.

Separately, the plan includes supporting personalized learning diagnosis, counseling, and career management using digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and allowing companies to utilize individuals' lifelong learning data for recruitment. Additionally, the "National Learning Experience Recognition System," which recognizes work experience as credits or degrees, will be introduced, and support for vulnerable groups in welfare blind spots such as the elderly, disabled, low-income groups, North Korean defectors, multicultural families, and overseas Koreans will be strengthened.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho said, “This plan is the basic direction of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s lifelong learning policy prepared according to the spirit of the Constitution,” and added, “We will faithfully implement this over the next five years to create a society where anyone can continuously leap forward through lifelong learning at any time.”

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