1938 Elementary, Middle, and High School Students to Leave Schools in Gyeongbuk This Year... Can the 'Hak-eop Jungdan Sukryeje' Prevent It?

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Jong-sik) is inspecting the operation status of various programs, including the Academic Discontinuation Reflection System, to reduce the increasing academic dropout rate in line with the times, and is seeking various measures to strengthen the prevention of academic discontinuation.

The number of students in Gyeongbuk who discontinued their studies due to illness, studying abroad, traffic accidents, household or interpersonal issues, qualification exams, etc., was 1,696 in 2021 (0.6% of all elementary, middle, and high school students) and 1,938 in 2022 (0.7%).

Gyeongbuk Office of Education is holding a meeting to prevent school dropout.

In particular, the number of high school students who dropped out was 1,060 in 2021 (1.6% of all high school students) and 1,254 in 2022 (2.0%). Although this is a decrease compared to 1,410 students before COVID-19 in 2019, the number of dropouts is showing a slight increasing trend.

Accordingly, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education operates the ‘Academic Discontinuation Reflection System’ through schools at all levels and the Education Support Office Wee Centers to prevent students from discontinuing their studies.

Especially to strengthen the substance of the Academic Discontinuation Reflection System, they are actively working for the normalization of public education through communication with related expert professors and staff, analyzing causes of academic discontinuation, developing and distributing prevention programs by case for 2024, expanding counseling for students at risk of academic discontinuation using metaverse virtual reality, operating one-on-one customized mentoring programs, strengthening visiting school counseling and Wee Class support.

In addition to solidifying prevention of academic discontinuation within schools, efforts are also being made for out-of-school youth support projects.

For students who are not enrolled or have discontinued studies during compulsory education stages, learning support and opportunities for academic recognition are provided, and for out-of-school youth, a monthly learning support fund of 100,000 KRW is provided through the Donghaeng Card project to help them successfully return to school and grow into healthy members of society.

In particular, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education’s Donghaeng Card project supports about 300 students annually with learning support funds through the Out-of-School Youth Support Center, and satisfaction surveys show that over 90% of recipients are satisfied.

Kim Jong-hyun, Director of Student Life Division at the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, said, “The causes and solutions to problems exist on the ground,” and added, “We will discover problems early through continuous communication with schools and Education Support Office Wee Centers, make improvements, and promote comprehensive and effective prevention measures.”

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