Educational groups such as kindergartens and home childcare services have expressed opposition to the government’s initiative to unify the early childhood education and childcare system, advocating for a dual system of early childhood education and infant care.
The ‘Dual System Advocacy Group,’ comprising the National Public Kindergarten Teachers’ Union, the Proper Parents Association, the Korean Home Childcare Association, and the Korean Kindergarten Association, released a statement urging the separation of early childhood education and infant care systems to enhance their mutual professionalism and quality.
The integration of early childhood education and care aims to provide seamless, high-quality educational and care services to children aged 0 to 5, regardless of the institution they attend.
However, the coalition argues that to enhance professionalism, the care for infants aged 0 to 2 should be handled by qualified infant caregivers, while early childhood education for ages 3 to 5 should be handled by certified kindergarten teachers.
They emphasized that infants aged 0 to 2 should be cared for in dedicated institutions with facilities and standards suitable for their development and needs, providing an environment similar to that of a home. They asserted that children aged 3 to 5 should be under the care of a system designed for early childhood education.
Furthermore, they called for amendments to the Early Childhood Education Act and the Infant Care Act to improve the specialized skills within both domains.
The group also demanded the enactment of a special budget law for the integration of early childhood education and care, to establish a legal foundation for securing the necessary budget resources.