[Suwan News = Kim Dong-ju, Bureau Chief] Although the Ministry of Education expressed optimism that an institutional foundation had been established to provide tailored support for the various challenges students face, the reality is that the budget for the Student-Tailored Integrated Support Act has been reduced.
According to the 2026 budget proposal submitted by the government to the National Assembly, funding for the “Survey on the Status of Student-Tailored Support” sub-project has been reduced from 930 million won this year to 582 million won next year. This is a sub-project under the Ministry of Education’s “Basic Education Statistics Survey Management” program, and the budget is intended to fund a thorough survey of the current situation.
The government announced a plan in 2022 to establish a student-tailored integrated support system, and the National Assembly passed the Student-Tailored Integrated Support Act in December 2024. The law is scheduled to take effect starting with the new school year in March of next year. Its core objective is to provide integrated support—including education, welfare, health, career guidance, and counseling—tailored to each individual student, enabling them to overcome challenges they face both in and out of school and grow up healthy.
The government has been conducting the survey on a pilot basis since 2023, and although it made efforts to roll it out in full next year—when the law is set to take effect—the budget for next year was reduced.
The reason for the budget reduction stems from the results of the independent evaluation of fiscal projects. According to the 2025 (fiscal year 2024) independent evaluation of fiscal projects, the “Management of Basic Education Statistics Surveys” sub-project received an “inadequate” rating. Although the total score was 91.6 points, this rating was assigned because the evaluation is based on a relative scale.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s guidelines for the autonomous evaluation of fiscal projects, a “deficient” rating generally results in a budget cut of at least 10 percent. As a result, funding for the “Basic Education Statistics Survey Management” project was reduced, as was funding for its sub-project, the “Survey on Student-Tailored Support.”
However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s guidelines apply only up to the government proposal stage. Budget increases are possible during the National Assembly’s deliberation of the budget bill. The key factors are whether there is sufficient consensus and the state of the budget.
Rep. Kim Moon-soo, representing Suncheon, Gwangyang, Gokseong, and Gurye (District A) in South Jeolla Province, stated, “Student-tailored support is a meaningful effort. It provides comprehensive support—including academics, welfare, health, career guidance, and counseling—when students face difficulties,” he said. “Although the government’s proposal must inevitably be reduced in accordance with the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s guidelines, the fact-finding survey to assess the current situation and actual conditions marks the beginning of student-tailored integrated support, so I will strive to secure an increase in funding through the National Assembly,” he emphasized.
He went on to say, “While the fact-finding survey has been conducted on a pilot basis so far, it will become a full-scale survey starting next year in accordance with the implementation of the law,” adding, “Since the scope and scale of the survey will increase significantly, budgetary support is essential.”
Pursuant to Article 9(1) of the Act (Survey on Student-Tailored Integrated Support), the Minister of Education shall conduct an annual survey on student-tailored integrated support to assess its current status and conditions and to use the findings as baseline data for formulating policies regarding student-tailored integrated support.
When the bill was passed last December, the Ministry of Education expressed its optimism, stating, “Legal grounds have now been established to build an integrated support system and an information-sharing system that will enable the early identification of the various difficulties students face and allow the local community—including schools, education offices, and local governments—to work together, rather than relying on ‘teachers alone,’ to provide timely, personalized support tailored to each student’s situation.”
Kim Dong-ju, Head of the News Division
