By Kim Se-jeong
Fourteen heads of regional education offices have proposed a formal dialogue channel to solve the conflicts over a free preschool program for children aged three and five.
They asked the government to form a consultative body comprised of the office heads, government officials, representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties, and childcare experts.
"We've asked for talks and urged President Park Geun-hye to make a decision to solve the problem and finance the program, but the government has provided no answers," they said during a media briefing in Seoul, Wednesday.
They said President Park made the promise for the free childcare program, and she should be responsible for the cost.
"In December 2012, President said the central government should be responsible for the national-level childcare project. Now, she is saying regional offices are responsible. Trust and responsibility are important in politics."
Of the nation's 17 education offices, superintendents from Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan did not participate in the statement.
All 17 offices suffer from a lack of funds, but 12 offices came up with temporary plan to cover the costs, either in full or in part, under pressure from parents and kindergarten and daycare center operators.
Introduced in 2013, the free preschool program was one of President Park's campaign pledges as a presidential candidate in 2012. Under the program, children between the ages of three and five at either kindergartens or daycare centers can use the facilities for free.
President Park did not specify the source of the funding, which has become the root cause of the ongoing controversy.
The government subsidized the program in the beginning, but the money gradually dried up and it ordered the regional education offices to assume the burden of funding the program from 2015.
The offices have refused, citing a lack of money. They also claimed that they are not subject to paying for daycare centers, because they are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Kindergartens only are under the Ministry of Education and the education offices.
But some municipal councils have refused to allocate the offices' funds for kindergartens as well, citing fairness with daycare centers.
In January, the suspended funding resulted in a delinquency of wage payment for employees at daycare centers and kindergartens in many regions. Operators of the childcare centers asked parents to pay, which upset the parents.
Daycare center and kindergarten operators began demanding solutions from lawmakers. Korea Edu-care Association, a private group consisting of daycare center operators, said, "We need real solutions, not temporary ones. Unless there's a meaningful solution, we'll start campaigning against candidates who do not support us."
Fourteen heads of regional education offices have proposed a formal dialogue channel to solve the conflicts over a free preschool program for children aged three and five.
They asked the government to form a consultative body comprised of the office heads, government officials, representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties, and childcare experts.
"We've asked for talks and urged President Park Geun-hye to make a decision to solve the problem and finance the program, but the government has provided no answers," they said during a media briefing in Seoul, Wednesday.
They said President Park made the promise for the free childcare program, and she should be responsible for the cost.
"In December 2012, President said the central government should be responsible for the national-level childcare project. Now, she is saying regional offices are responsible. Trust and responsibility are important in politics."
Of the nation's 17 education offices, superintendents from Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan did not participate in the statement.
All 17 offices suffer from a lack of funds, but 12 offices came up with temporary plan to cover the costs, either in full or in part, under pressure from parents and kindergarten and daycare center operators.
Introduced in 2013, the free preschool program was one of President Park's campaign pledges as a presidential candidate in 2012. Under the program, children between the ages of three and five at either kindergartens or daycare centers can use the facilities for free.
President Park did not specify the source of the funding, which has become the root cause of the ongoing controversy.
The government subsidized the program in the beginning, but the money gradually dried up and it ordered the regional education offices to assume the burden of funding the program from 2015.
The offices have refused, citing a lack of money. They also claimed that they are not subject to paying for daycare centers, because they are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Kindergartens only are under the Ministry of Education and the education offices.
But some municipal councils have refused to allocate the offices' funds for kindergartens as well, citing fairness with daycare centers.
In January, the suspended funding resulted in a delinquency of wage payment for employees at daycare centers and kindergartens in many regions. Operators of the childcare centers asked parents to pay, which upset the parents.
Daycare center and kindergarten operators began demanding solutions from lawmakers. Korea Edu-care Association, a private group consisting of daycare center operators, said, "We need real solutions, not temporary ones. Unless there's a meaningful solution, we'll start campaigning against candidates who do not support us."
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