Neulbom School Introduced Nationwide This Year... Preschool-Kindergarten Integration Debuts as Pilot Project

Neulbom School, Free 2-Hour Customized Program for 1st Graders
Over 2,000 Schools in First Half, Nationwide Elementary Schools in Second Half
Goal to Select Integrated Preschool-Elementary Model Schools by March

The 'Neulbom School' program, which provides an integrated care and education program for a certain period after classes at elementary schools, will expand nationwide to all elementary schools by the end of this year, starting with about 2,000 schools in the first half of this year. The 'Yubotonghap' system, which unifies the management system of kindergartens and daycare centers, is expected to make its debut by selecting 30 model schools starting in March.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, announced the '2024 Ministry of Education Major Policy Implementation Plan' containing these details on the 24th at the Government Seoul Office. Along with promoting Neulbom School and pilot operation of Yubotonghap, the plan includes practical implementation of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's 'education reform,' such as breaking down barriers between university departments and majors. It also includes measures to form a 'private education zero (0·zero) model' within education development special zones to resolve the problem of overheated private education.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Neulbom School to Expand to All Elementary Schools in the Second Half... Dedicated Staff Assigned

The Ministry of Education plans to increase the operation of Neulbom School from more than 2,000 schools in the first semester this year to all elementary schools in the second semester. Unlike the existing after-school classes or care provided from after school until as late as 7 p.m., Neulbom School operates from 7 a.m. to as late as 8 p.m. This year, any first-grade elementary student who wishes to use Neulbom School can do so, and next year it will be expanded to second grade, with plans to extend it to all elementary students by 2026.

In particular, first graders in elementary school will receive a free customized program for two hours every day from the first semester this year. This will be expanded to second graders from next year. As a result, the dismissal time for lower-grade elementary students, who usually finish around 1 to 2 p.m. after the 4th or 5th period, will be extended by about two hours, reducing the burden of care. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education from the 1st to the 8th targeting 52,655 prospective parents of first graders, 83.6% expressed a desire to participate in Neulbom School. The most preferred time was until 4 p.m. after regular classes (29.8%), followed by 3 p.m. (25.4%).

Along with the implementation of Neulbom School, to reduce the 'workload of teachers' pointed out by the education community, the Ministry of Education announced that it will complete an operating system separated from teachers by next year. From the first semester this year, dedicated personnel will be assigned, and in the second semester, a dedicated work organization called the 'Neulbom Support Office' will be established and operated in all elementary schools. The vice principal or a public official will serve as the 'Neulbom Support Office Chief,' with administrative tasks handled by 'Neulbom Staff,' existing care specialists called 'Neulbom Care Specialists,' and external instructors called 'Neulbom Program Instructors' assigned.

However, some participation of teachers seems inevitable until the dedicated operating system completely separated from teachers is established. During the transitional phase of establishing the Neulbom Support Office, the Ministry of Education decided to temporarily assign contract teachers outside the quota this year to take on new Neulbom tasks. When some local education offices recently announced plans to assign contract teachers to support Neulbom School tasks, causing controversy, the Ministry of Education explained in a briefing material that "existing teachers will be excluded from new tasks arising from Neulbom School, and gradually all teachers, including contract teachers, will be separated from Neulbom School tasks."

Yubotonghap to Operate Model Schools Starting in March

Yubotonghap, a major education reform initiative, will begin pilot projects this year. The Ministry of Education plans to select 30 model schools and 3 pilot regions as leading projects in March to experience the effects of Yubotonghap in advance and identify and improve issues. The actual operation period will be decided after consultation with education offices and others.

In model schools, joint curricula between kindergartens and daycare centers will be operated, and in pilot regions, a restructured cost support system, which is difficult to apply to individual institutions, will be implemented. The Yubotonghap Promotion Team explained, "For kindergartens, various care models will be introduced within the pilot project, and for daycare centers, consulting on teacher curricula at education offices is being considered."

Opinions accumulated through the pilot project operation will be reflected when finalizing the Yubotonghap model by the end of this year. The childcare and education tasks, previously divided between the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, will be unified under the Ministry of Education by June.

Additionally, to reduce the burden on parents and improve the quality of meals and other environments, the Ministry of Education plans to increase tuition and childcare fee support for kindergarten and daycare from 350,000 won last year to 400,000 won this year for children aged five and above.

'Encouraging Admission Without Major'... 'Incentive Criteria' Temporarily Abolished

On December 11, 2023, examinees and parents attending the '2024 College Entrance Regular Admission Preparation Briefing for Students and Parents' held at the Han Kyung-jik Memorial Hall of Soongsil University in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, are listening to the explanation. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of Education will encourage universities to expand admission without a major by next year but will not apply the previously planned 'ratio criteria.' Previously, the Ministry planned that from the 2025 academic year, private universities in the metropolitan area would need to meet at least 20%, and national universities at least 25%, admission without a major to receive incentives. However, after hearing field opinions that conditions are challenging, the direction was revised.

The authorities plan to provide incentives to all universities through qualitative evaluation as last year, and consider giving additional points in qualitative evaluation to those actively promoting admission without a major. However, depending on this year's progress, the Ministry of Education explained that it might consider incentive entry based on the ratio of admission without a major in the future.

The policy to strengthen admission without a major remains. Kim Hyo-shin, Director of the Regional Innovation University Support Division at the Ministry of Education, emphasized, "Universities have operated too rigidly so far. They should be able to flexibly adjust internal resources such as space, faculty, and equipment according to student demand, breaking away from the existing methods."

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education will also build an ecosystem to strengthen the connection between regions and universities. First, it plans to establish a 'Regional Innovation-Centered University Support (RISE)' system within the first half of the year to promote co-growth of regions and universities by delegating administrative and financial authority of universities to local governments. In the second half, 10 additional Glocal Universities will be selected. Glocal Universities are a government policy project selecting and supporting 30 non-metropolitan universities by 2030 to respond to the declining school-age population and nurture talent tailored to local communities. Universities selected as Glocal Universities receive 100 billion won per school over five years.

Creating a 'Private Education Zero (0·zero) Model'

In line with the government's policy to dismantle the private education cartel, the Ministry of Education plans to discover 'regions and schools without private education' that provide customized education programs for all ages linked to education development special zones. This is being reviewed as a 'bottom-up' approach that fully supports models autonomously conceived by education offices, local governments, and institutions rather than a model designed by the ministry. The goal is to form a virtuous cycle structure that naturally replaces private education by providing learning and career support within the public education system.

However, the ministry is not considering policies to restrict private education businesses in related areas. Deputy Director Bae said, "If an area becomes free of private education, we are not separately considering sanctions against private education institutions or organizations."

The authorities will also strengthen the management of the pool of test question writers and verification of test questions to fundamentally block the connection between the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and private education. In cooperation with the Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS), Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, and Korea Council for University Education, they plan to advance an AI-based question bank program using CSAT and EBS textbooks and enable preparation for college entrance centered on public education through career, academic, and college entrance guidance.

Deputy Prime Minister Lee said, "This year will be a year when the virtuous cycle of restoring trust in public education and reducing the burden of private education begins, and education reform takes root successfully. We will steadily promote reform tasks together with the education field."

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