By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Public education for the disabled will get 7.7 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in funding for upgrades over the next five years.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Monday that it will add 1,500 classes for disabled students to 5,753 special classes at primary and secondary schools nationwide by 2012.
The ministry required kindergartens and high schools to offer courses for the disabled last year. Regular students are required to attend up to middle school only.
The plan is aimed to help disabled students adapt to school and society after graduation.
The ministry will also develop a system to detect disabilities in younger students in cooperation with specialized education centers. For this, the ministry will randomly conduct physical examinations on children under six years old.
Those wishing to be teachers must also complete special education courses for disabled students to obtain licenses. Among the country’s licensed teachers, 15 percent have completed the course.