The government has decided to extend the operating hours of elementary school care classes, which are mostly operated until 5 pm, to 7 pm. This is to reflect the working hours of parents, such as dual-income families. However, the actual operating hours depend on the education office and schools, so it is not clear how many places that are operating extended hours will increase.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 4th a plan to improve the operation of elementary school care classes at the government complex in Sejong. According to the Ministry of Education, 12,697 out of 14,278 elementary school care classes as of September last year, or 88.9%, provided care only until 5:00 p.m. However, many parents need care until later. As a result of the demand survey in January, 66.3% of respondents said they needed childcare service by 5pm, but 17.6% said they needed childcare service between 5pm and 7pm.
The Ministry of Education said, "There have been requests for the operation of childcare class hours that reflect the parents' work hours, but only 11.1% of the total care classes are operated after 5pm." We decided to extend the hours of care provided by encouraging the operation of care until the city.”
Nine out of 10 places close at 5pm... "Recommended to operate until 7pm"
The number of childcare classes is planned to increase by 700 every year by 2022. A budget of 120 million won per classroom is provided for new/extended facilities, and 10 million won per classroom for conversion from existing classrooms to care-only classrooms. In the future, it was decided to revise the financial investment review guidelines of local education administrative agencies to install care spaces when new elementary schools are established.
As the number of hours of care increases, the number of hours worked by the caregiver also increases. Currently, afternoon care only takes place from after school to 5:00 pm, so many (56.4%) of them worked less than 6 hours a day. Caregivers who have been demanding to switch to a full-time 8-hour day rather than a part-time job are seeing this plan positively in terms of securing appropriate working hours.
The actual operation is the responsibility of the school district... Dedicated companies "Strike at disadvantage"
However, the operating hours of all care classes do not increase to 7 pm. The main body of operation is the metropolitan/provincial offices of education, and since the Ministry of Education recommends extending the hours to the education offices, the actual operating hours may vary by region and school.
The division of duties between caregivers and teachers remained the responsibility of the Office of Education. Teachers believe that since caring is childcare, not education, a dedicated person should be in charge of related tasks. Caregivers are demanding that the education authorities provide standards for working hours, saying that there is not enough time for both care and administrative work.
In this regard, the Ministry of Education said, "The timing of the transition will be decided by each city/provincial office of education," while allowing the administrative tasks related to care to be shifted to the direction in which the person in charge of care is in charge.
The National Education and Civil Service Headquarters of the Public Transport Workers' Union of the KCTU believes that this measure is not sufficient. The Education Public Service Headquarters issued a statement on the same day, saying, "As the Ministry of Education has proposed a plan at the direction level, there may be expedients and distortions in each education office and school." We will respond strongly, including strikes,” he said.