This photo, taken on June 25, 2020, shows a kindergarten in Ansan, just south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul city government will provide education fee support to kindergartens with foreign children that are suffering from financial difficulties stemming from the prolonged pandemic, officials said Wednesday.
Under an emergency handout, the city government will cover half of education fees of 1,556 foreign children enrolled in 551 national, public and private daycare centers in the city until October by injecting a combined 1.5 billion won (US$1.2 million).
Over the next five months, kindergartens should receive only half of fees from children’s parents, officials said.
Currently, foreign infants aged up to two are eligible to receive education fee support equivalent to that of South Korean infants. However, foreign children aged between three and five are excluded from such support.
In accordance, daycare centers located in parts of the city with large foreign populations have recently suffered from financial losses as foreign children have not attended due to COVID-19.
The city government said it will provide 140,000 won per month for each foreign child aged between three and five enrolled in national and public kindergartens.
A three-year-old child enrolled in a private kindergarten will be given 235,800 won per month, with 225,650 won provided to a child aged between four and five.
(Yonhap)
