Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter |

South Korean dramatically is going to extend the after-school care and reform education programs for elementary school students in an effort to battle against the country's low birth rate announced by the ministry of education on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Education, before and after-school child care programs provided by elementary schools will be extended from morning 7 ~9 am and closing at 8 pm.

South Korean government is aiming to launch the extended program at about 2,000 elementary schools in the first semester of this year 2024, and will be applicable at every elementary school nationwide by the second semester. 

The ministry of Education also aims to operate a special education program to provide a variety of after-school activities, including sports, arts for the elementary school first graders in order to enhance and support their mental health. The two-hour after school programs will be provided free of cost to allay the burden of working parents.

The government will superintend a special organization that is only dedicated to after-school programs instead of increasing after-school care burden onto teachers.

"More than 2,250 substitute teachers will be deployed just for the after-school programs in the first semester of 2024. In the second semester, there will be at least one staff member dedicated for the after-school operation, so that the burden of labor for the after-school programs can be lifted from teachers," said Lee Ju-ho, the education minister.

"We must make these two policies a success in our bid to reduce private education expenditure and cope with low childbirths," said President Yoon Seok Yeol on Wednesday.

By 2025, the government aims to differentiate the responsibility of school teachers and after-school services.

Local communities and universities in the region will take part to provide relevant programs. 

The government also plans to push for the integration of supervision of nurseries and kindergartens by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, respectively, in a bid to unify state management of children's education and daycare with a motive to resolve the gap between the institutions in charge.

Moreover, by June, the centralized early childhood care and education management system will be unified under the Ministry of Education," 

"We propel the integration of nurseries and kindergartens to complete the world's best education and nursing for children aged 0 to 5”, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, a financial investment plan, as well as a personnel and budget transfer plan will be established by June to promote the integration of local organizations into city and provincial offices of education. The government will formulate the idea for the integrate model and designate 30 demonstrational organizations as test beds.

South Korean government is also strategizing a plan to attract foreign talent from various countries by encouraging local government, universities and companies in the region, offering internships and enhancing support for certain career paths.

In this regard, the Education Ministry plans to build 10 centers in big cities such as Los Angeles; Tokyo and Osaka, Japan and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to provide counseling and systematic programs to facilitate the foreign students.