Changwon City to Provide 'Admission Preparation Grants' to First-Year Elementary, Middle and High School Students ... Up to 500,000 Won per Student

Changwon Special City in Gyeongsangnam-do will provide admission preparation grants of up to 500,000 won per student to first-year elementary, middle, and high school students as early as the first half of next year.

The city announced the plan at a press conference at City Hall on November 3.

The program, a pledge of the ninth popularly elected Changwon City administration, will provide admission preparation grants to first-year elementary, middle, and high school students who live in Changwon, regardless of their household income.

Applications will be accepted through Government24 or in person at the administrative welfare center in the applicant's eup, myeon, or dong. The grants will be provided as mobile Changwon Sarang Gift Certificates, known as Nubijeon.

Nubijeon will be restricted to use at affiliated businesses in education-related sectors, including bookstores and shops selling school supplies, shoes, glasses, and smart devices.

To lay the groundwork for the program, the city drew up a plan to provide admission preparation grants in September, completed consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on establishing a social security program in October, and enacted the “Changwon City Ordinance on Admission Preparation Grants for Elementary, Middle, and High School Students” on October 30.

Changwon Special City, Gyeongsangnam-do Director of the Autonomous Administration Bureau Lee Yujeong announces a plan to provide school admission preparation grants to first-year students entering elementary, middle and high school. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]

According to the city, 24,000 students are expected to be eligible for support next year, with a total budget of 12 billion won.

The city plans to provide up to 500,000 won per student. However, it will deduct the amount of any admission preparation grant for low-income elementary, middle, or high school students, or funds for purchasing admission supplies for students from large families, received from the education office. It will also deduct any admission preparation grant received from another local government before the student transferred to Changwon.

Based on this approach, the city's budget for next year is estimated at up to 5.4 billion won, assuming grants are provided without exceeding 500,000 won per student.

The city aims to accept applications after the start of the school year next year and distribute the grants as early as late April to early May.

To that end, it plans to complete follow-up procedures, including securing the relevant budget in December following budget deliberations, drawing up detailed implementation plans in January next year, and establishing an online application system through Government24.

The city will also consult with the Gyeongsangnam-do Office of Education to finalize procedures for verifying whether applicants have received overlapping grants, where the children actually live, whether the caregivers who will receive the grants are actually raising the children, and whether the children have enrolled in school. These procedures will be incorporated into the detailed implementation plan.

The city is also considering issuing paper Nubijeon certificates for households in which grandparents are raising children and others who may have difficulty using the mobile version.

Lee Yujeong, head of the Autonomous Administration Bureau, said, “Changwon's approach to managing its finances is to cut unnecessary spending and direct the budget to where it is truly needed. We decided to provide the grants regardless of household income because we are committed to ensuring that all students benefit from educational welfare.”

She added, “We plan to expand support from first-year elementary, middle, and high school students to first-year university students, building an educational welfare system that supports students at every stage of their growth. We expect this to ease the burden of education costs on parents and contribute to revitalizing the local economy.”

Mayor Kang Ki-yoon said, “We will expand universal educational welfare so that every student can pursue their dreams from an equal starting point, regardless of income disparities, and continue building Changwon into an education-focused city where families can raise children with confidence.”

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