Establishing Regional Customized Education and Care Systems... Pilot Operation of 'Education Development Special Zones' from Next Year

Comprehensive Support from Early Childhood to University
Collaboration among Local Governments, Education Offices, and Universities

The government is promoting the establishment of nationwide 'Education Development Special Zones' to address regional educational disparities. Local governments, education offices, universities, and regional industries will collaborate to create a system that provides tailored support for public education in each region.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, the Ministry of Education and the Presidential Committee on the Local Era held a public hearing at the ICC Hotel in Daejeon and announced a draft plan for the 'Education Development Special Zones.' Earlier, at a briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex on the 31st, Vice Minister of Education Jang Sang-yoon explained, "Through the Education Development Special Zones, the government aims to enhance the overall competitiveness of regional education?from early childhood to primary, secondary, and university education?so that local residents can receive high-quality education they desire. We will promote education reform led by local governments to improve living conditions and revitalize the regional education innovation ecosystem."

The Education Development Special Zones are a system where local governments, education offices, universities, regional companies, and public institutions cooperate comprehensively to support educational innovation, nurture local talent, and promote settlement within the broader framework of regional development. This was announced as a core policy of the 'Bold Education Reform to Foster Talent,' one of the five major strategies for realizing the Local Era, at the Local Era Vision Declaration Ceremony on September 14. The goal of the Education Development Special Zones is to enhance the competitiveness of regional education and build a human resource base to realize the Local Era. This initiative is part of the '1st Comprehensive Plan for the Local Era (2023?2027)' announced by the Local Era Committee on the 1st.

November 2nd, 2 PM Embargo----- Jang Sang-yoon, Deputy Minister of Education, is announcing the draft plan for the promotion of the Special Education Development Zone at a joint briefing of the Local Era Committee and the Ministry of Education held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

By educational stage, plans are in place to establish support systems from early childhood and care through primary, secondary, and university education. The Ministry of Education and the Local Era Committee explained that local governments, including education offices, will jointly operate the special zones as 'child-friendly regions' to build regionally tailored education and care systems. They aim to establish hub-type care centers and student support transportation services so that local parents can entrust their children with peace of mind. They also announced plans to provide specialized curricula required by companies and public institutions. Furthermore, they stated that local governments, regional universities, and companies will collaborate to promote various projects to create jobs linked to regional industrial strategies.

The Education Development Special Zones will be operated in three types: Type 1, jointly applied for by heads of basic local governments and superintendents of education; and Types 2 and 3, jointly applied for by heads of metropolitan local governments and superintendents of education. Multiple metropolitan (basic) local governments can form alliances to participate jointly by type. The designated areas are regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area, but population-declining areas within the metropolitan area or border areas may also be eligible for selection.

To comprehensively support improvements in education and settlement conditions for regional development, the operation performance will be enhanced by linking with the four major Local Era Special Zones, RISE (Regional Innovation-Centered University Support System), Education Internationalization Special Zones, and major education reform tasks.

Education Development Special Zone Virtuous Cycle System (Draft) [Table Source= Ministry of Education]

Before fully operating the Education Development Special Zones, a pilot operation will be conducted first to discover various special exception demands and excellent special zone operation models in the regions. The scale of pilot area designation will not be predetermined but will be decided gradually after comprehensively reviewing the status of special zone applications and promotion contents by type during the public contest evaluation process. Heads of metropolitan (basic) local governments and superintendents of education wishing to designate special zones can jointly prepare the 'Education Development Special Zone Agreement' and pilot area operation plans and submit them within the pilot area public contest application deadline.

The Ministry of Education plans to hold explanatory meetings by region immediately after the public hearing to listen to opinions from the field. After collecting field opinions and consulting with related ministries, the pilot area public contest will begin in December, and pilot operations will be promoted from 2024.

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