Declining Student Numbers Lead to Combining Elementary, Middle, and High Schools... Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Announces Eum School Contest

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 2nd that it will hold a public contest for Seoul-type integrated operation schools, known as Ieum Schools, which will flexibly and adaptively carry out educational activities in response to the decrease in the number of students.

Ieum Schools are a school operation model that integrates schools of different levels to share physical and human resources between schools. Currently, three schools operate under this model in Seoul (Haenuri Elementary and Middle School, Seoul Sports Middle and High School, Gangbit Elementary and Middle School).

A satisfaction survey of students and parents for these schools showed that students scored 4.06 and parents 3.93 out of 5 points, indicating that over 73% are satisfied. The advantages of Ieum Schools include diversity and connectivity in curriculum operation, ease of life guidance, improved adaptation to higher-level schools, and increased sense of belonging.

Starting in March, Ilsin Girls' Middle School and Jamsil Girls' High School will officially operate as Ieum Schools for the first time among general middle and high schools in Seoul. Through continuous academic guidance linked to the curriculum, effective curriculum operation through integrated teacher management, and sharing of physical and human resources such as joint use of school facilities, the plan is to promote stable growth of students.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to promote the operation of Ieum Schools by selecting private schools through a public contest and designating public schools after gathering opinions from schools through the Education Support Office. Designation is scheduled to be possible as early as September this year or by March next year at the latest. The designation criteria require that among schools on the same site or adjacent schools, considering school size and status, more than 50% of parent respondents must agree after collecting opinions from students, parents, and staff.

Once designated as an Ieum School, the school will receive integrated operation school support funds from the Ministry of Education for five years. If facilities are not closed, a total of 1 billion KRW will be supported over five years; if facilities are closed, elementary schools will receive 4 to 6 billion KRW, and middle and high schools will receive 9 to 10 billion KRW.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, “Through the operation of ‘Ieum Schools,’ we will promote the stable growth of students by integrating and sharing educational resources by school level, and furthermore, we will spare no effort in improving and supporting the development of a new type of school that connects schools and communities.”

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