“고3부터 단계적 무상교육”...2021년 전면 시행<br /><br />The South Korea government is working to offer free education to all high school students - a benefit currently only available to elementary and middle school students. <br />Won Jung-hwan has the details.<br />South Korea is getting rid of school fees for all high school students starting in 2021.<br />Until now, high schoolers have had to pay a fee every semester that covered costs including expenses for tuition, school management and teaching materials.<br />That meant Korea was the only one among 35 OECD countries that charged money for high school.<br />The decision was made Tuesday by officials from the presidential office, the education ministry and the ruling party at the National Assembly. <br />This will not only will help ordinary households save nearly 14-hundred U.S. dollars a year,… it will also strengthen the South Korean people's right to education.<br />"Education is a basic right stipulated in the Constitution. And to realize that right, along with elementary and middle schools, high school also needs to be made free."<br />The plan will be implemented gradually, starting with this year's high school seniors in the fall.<br />Then it'll expand to second-year students the following semester.<br />But the plan always had an issue -- how to finance it. <br />The ruling party has said that for high school to be free, 1-point-7-5 billion U.S. dollars in funding will be needed every year. <br />And some experts point out the plan would depend on the cooperation of local superindendents, which could pose a problem.<br />But the Moon administration has made free education a top priority as part of building what it calls an "inclusive nation,"… so the government, at least, is confident that this time it'll work.<br />"The previous administration had some difficulty securing funds,… but the current government has taken measures to ensure financial support because they feel a responsibility to show they're fulfilling their national agenda."<br />But for high school to be free, the National Assembly needs to pass the relevant bills in the first half of the year, and progress there is never guaranteed.<br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
