— Overview
This program was built to put extra help first in schools where vulnerable students are concentrated, so that a thin household would be less likely to thin a child's chance at school. It began as a pilot in Seoul and Busan in 2003 and 2004, widened from 2005, and w on a legal footing in 2011 when funding moved to ordinary grants. Early evaluations, found fewer absences and fewer problem behaviors, and high satisfaction.
Those results stay that earlier account of the evaluations at the time.
— Contents and key concepts
From a 2003 pilot to a 2011 legal footing
Social polarization can leave children from low-income homes with less will to study, with bullying, and with a hard time settling at school, and can pass poverty on. Economic inequality becomes inequality of opportunity, of what is taught, and of what school later returns. The Education Welfare Priority Support program was built to put extra help first in schools where vulnerable students are concentrated, and to knit home, school, and the neighborhood into a net.
The ministry began selecting areas in 2003 using counts of national basic-livelihood recipients, the householder's education, and local tax paid per person. Seoul and Busan ran pilots in 2003 and 2004. From 2005 the work widened by open application into the capital region and smaller cities near the large metropolitan cities. The program had been funded as a national policy from special grants, money meant for fiscal needs that the ordinary formula cannot catch. After some ten years, and with studies of effectiveness and satisfaction, the ministry in 2011, under Article 54 of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, moved the money to ordinary grants and added a formula, so the work could sit on a stable legal base. Those dates stay in 2003, 2005, and 2011. They are not treated as this week's news.
What the work looks like, and results left in their own years
The models named are Britain's Education Action Zones, later Excellence in Cities, and France's Zones d'Éducation Prioritaire. The aim is higher educational achievement for vulnerable groups through an integrated system. Selection moved from areas to individual schools. The net includes economically vulnerable students, students from multicultural families, students who have left North Korea, and students who are behind. Everyone in a program school is in scope; students with layered vulnerabilities are chosen for intensive support. 'Comprehensive' here does not mean every service at once, but every side a particular student needs: reading and mentoring and extra subject help; after-school clubs and festivals; individual, group, and family counseling; care rooms, night supervision, and health checks; and training for parents and teachers.
A first-year evaluation found lower absence rates and fewer problem behaviors, better classroom attitude, higher marks, and high satisfaction among students, parents, and teachers. Dropping out, truancy, and school violence fell considerably and the share of intensively supported students below basic academic standards generally declined; more sessions were linked to better adjustment and basic habits. Those claims stay that earlier account of the evaluations at the time. A task still remains: friendship and prosocial behavior need more attention. The net is one that school and neighborhood make together, and it still needs steady policy and steady money.
Sources
- the Education Welfare Priority Support program in Korea, dating a 2003–2004 Seoul and Busan pilot, expansion from 2005, and a 2011 shift to ordinary grants.
Last updated: 14 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
When is the program dated?
The Ministry of Education began selecting areas in 2003 using counts of national basic-livelihood recipients, the householder's education, and local tax paid per person. Seoul and Busan ran pilots in 2003 and 2004. From 2005 the work widened by open application into the capital region and smaller cities near the large metropolitan cities. After some ten years, and with studies of effectiveness and satisfaction, the ministry in 2011, under Article 54 of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, moved the money from special grants to ordinary grants and added a formula, so the work could sit on a stable legal base. Those dates stay in 2003, 2005, and 2011.
Who is meant to be helped, and what does the work actually look like?
The models named are Britain's Education Action Zones, later Excellence in Cities, and France's Zones d'Éducation Prioritaire. The aim is higher educational achievement for vulnerable groups through an integrated welfare system. Selection moved from areas to individual schools where vulnerable students are concentrated. The net includes economically vulnerable students, students from multicultural families, students who have left North Korea, and students who are behind in their work. Everyone in a program school is in scope; students with layered vulnerabilities such as poverty or a broken home are chosen for intensive support. 'Comprehensive' here does not mean every service at once, but every side a particular student needs: learning, culture and experience, psychological and emotional help, and welfare, often in a study-room that mixes learning and care.
What results does it claim, and how should they be read?
A first-year evaluation found lower absence rates and fewer problem behaviors, better classroom attitude, higher marks, and high satisfaction. Dropping out, truancy, and school violence fell considerably and the share of intensively supported students below basic academic standards generally declined; more sessions were linked to better adjustment and basic habits. Those claims stay that earlier account of the evaluations at the time, figures for those years. An OECD report in 2011 urged continued work on quality. A task still remains: friendship and prosocial behavior need more attention.
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