Childcare Costs Vary Greatly by Region, Government Aims to Address with Increased Support

Ministry of Education Announces the '3rd Basic Plan for Early Childhood Education Development'
Early Childhood Tuition Support to Increase Gradually from 2024
Ensuring Early Childhood Learning Rights through Appropriate Scaling of Small-Scale Kindergartens

The current monthly preschool tuition fee of approximately 280,000 KRW is expected to be gradually increased starting next year, which will reduce the financial burden on parents. Measures to allow regular educational programs at kindergartens to start from 8 a.m. are also being promoted.

On the 10th, the Ministry of Education announced the "3rd Basic Plan for the Development of Early Childhood Education (2023?2027)" at the 3rd Social Relations Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office.

This basic plan was prepared to provide more comprehensive education and care to all young children and to increase the diversity of early childhood education.

On the 11th, a child is experiencing a single-player smart board game at the 43rd Seoul International Early Childhood Education Exhibition & Kids Fair held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

First, the Ministry of Education plans to increase preschool tuition support from 2024 to reduce the burden on parents. Currently, all young children receive about 280,000 KRW per month in tuition support, but there is a gap as some parents pay additional tuition depending on the kindergarten. Starting with 5-year-olds in 2024 and extending to 3-year-olds by 2026, the tuition support will be increased to guarantee the right to education for young children.

Additionally, to ensure the learning rights of young children, small-scale attached kindergartens will be adjusted to an appropriate size. As of December 2022, the number of 3- to 5-year-old children was about 1,089,000, but it is expected to decrease by approximately 32% to around 739,000 by 2027. Accordingly, structural adjustments such as the closure of small-scale public and private kindergartens are inevitable. From 2024, the Ministry of Education will adjust the size of attached kindergartens with one class, organize classes by age, and provide high-quality educational services such as full-day care, meals, and school buses during vacations. Private kindergartens wishing to close due to difficulties in recruiting children will be supported to close smoothly, and children enrolled in private kindergartens will be assisted in transferring to nearby public institutions.

Early childhood education will also be diversified to allow parents to choose customized education that fits their educational views and the characteristics of their children. From 2024, the Ministry will consider expanding autonomy so that institutions can flexibly operate educational content, methods, and hours, and support each kindergarten to run distinctive education based on their educational philosophy and strengths.

Furthermore, to respond to parents' morning care needs and provide more stable education and care to young children, from 2024, institutions that wish to do so will pilot starting educational programs at 8 a.m. From 2025, participation in after-school programs (care) will be guaranteed for all young children. Considering kindergartens, local conditions, and budget situations by city and province, personnel such as regular teachers, temporary teachers, and dedicated staff will be assigned and operated for after-school programs. Care will be expanded through connections with hub kindergartens, Neulbom Schools, daycare centers, and local children's centers.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, stated, "Through the 3rd Early Childhood Education Development Plan, we will establish a foundation for integrated care and education and provide meticulous support to young children and parents enrolled in kindergartens."

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