The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education in Andong. [North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education]
The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education in Andong. [North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education]

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education has submitted a 5.84 trillion won ($4.35 billion) budget proposal for 2027 to the North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly, the office announced Wednesday. The proposed budget represents a 255.4 billion won, or 4.6 percent, increase from the 5.59 trillion won base budget for the current year.

The proposal focuses on securing stable funding for student learning activities despite uncertain fiscal conditions, while prioritizing efforts to close educational gaps, build a foundation for future-oriented education and create safer school environments.

Among the major allocations, 16.9 billion won has been set aside for tailored academic improvement programs and 91.2 billion won for the operation of extended-care schools and after-school programs. An additional 62 billion won will go toward improving conditions for AI and digital education to strengthen the foundation for future learning.

In the area of educational welfare, the budget includes 41.8 billion won for special education support, 39.4 billion won for educational welfare programs for children from low-income families and 29.6 billion won for support of rural and small-scale schools.

To improve school environments, 284 billion won has been allocated for renovating aging school facilities and 28.3 billion won for modernizing cafeteria facilities and upgrading cooking conditions.

The office also drew on 149.7 billion won from reserve funds and restructured spending — including overhauling 50 percent of existing policy projects — to offset a projected 88 billion won drop in local education tax revenue following the expiration of a sunset clause, as well as a 12.6 billion won reduction in the national government's share of free high school education costs.

New and expanded projects were kept to a minimum. Funding for lower-priority facility projects and event and operational expenses was trimmed, with resources concentrated instead on essential programs directly tied to student learning.

The budget proposal will be finalized after review and approval at the 367th regular session of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly.

"Even within limited fiscal constraints, we must uphold the value of education for our students," North Gyeongsang Superintendent of Education Im Jong-sik said. "We will continue providing the support each student needs to grow and push forward without delay on education policies that can be felt on the ground at schools."


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