An Min-seok: "Children's Future Begins with Breaking Down Walls Between Education Office and Local Government"

The Gyeonggi Province Office of Education (Superintendent An Min-seok) is holding 'regional breakfast meetings to break down walls' with 25 education support offices and 31 cities and counties throughout the province to dismantle barriers between educational administration and general administration and resolve regional educational issues.

The provincial education office will hold breakfast meetings starting with the western region on the 24th, the southern region on the 25th, the eastern region on the 26th, and the northern region in September, with Gyeonggi Province Superintendent An Min-seok, regional superintendents, and mayors and county governors participating. The meetings will jointly identify cooperation tasks tailored to regional characteristics and needs, and formulate implementation plans.

The first meeting for the western region was held on the 24th at Ansan Education Support Office. The meeting was attended by heads of eight cities and counties—Anyang, Gwacheon, Gunpo, Uiwang, Siheung, Bucheon, Gwangmyeong, and Ansan—and six regional superintendents.

At the meeting, cooperation measures between education support offices and local governments were explored, focusing on △school complex facilities and opening school facilities △improving student commuting conditions △activating 'RAS Gyeonggi Arts and Physical Education' △phone-free zones and reading education △childcare and community resource linkage.

In particular, there is significance in the fact that the provincial education office is moving away from presenting uniform projects and instead having superintendents and mayors and county governors directly identify 'wall-breaking tasks' based on regional characteristics and student needs, and discuss implementation plans.

Superintendent An Min-seok stated at the meeting, "Before children's issues, there cannot be separate matters for education offices and local governments," and added, "Superintendents and mayors and county governors must meet directly and solve regional education and childcare issues together."

The provincial education office plans to concretize regional cooperation tasks discussed at these meetings and build a sustainable regional education cooperation system where education support offices and local governments work together.