By Lee Kyoung Mi and Lee Jihae
President Moon Jae-in on Aug. 18 called education "a core investment field for a new future" and said he hopes for changes in the people's daily life through the "Green Smart School" project under the Korean New Deal.
He said this in a morning videoconference with municipal and provincial superintendents of education after visiting Changdeok Girls' Middle School in Seoul to experience smart education. Changdeok is classified as a green smart school.
The project is one of the ten key tasks of the Korean New Deal announced on July 14 by President Moon. The plan is to turn schools nationwide with aging buildings into high-tech learning facilities based on digital and eco-friendly technology.
The president's visit reflected his intent to set up an educational environment that enables integrated education offline and online anytime and anywhere.
President Moon said online and offline courses were successfully implemented through the nation's first online opening of the school year amid COVID-19 and a thorough quarantine system, thanking schools, students and parents for such success.
The project will receive funding of KRW 18.5 trillion by 2025 to make groundbreaking improvements to an estimated 2,835 schools with old facilities. The government expects the project to create 150,000 jobs and play a pivotal role in reducing CO2 emissions.
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