Jeong Gi-seong, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker on the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan Council, raised concerns Wednesday about a mismatch between accelerated move-in timelines and delayed school construction in the Cheomdan 3 district, a new residential development straddling the boundary of Jangseong's Jinwon-myeon and Gwangsan-gu.
According to data submitted by the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan Office of Education, the Cheomdan 3 district is set to accommodate 7,574 households in total. Following a schedule change by the developer, 3,949 households are now slated to move in this October. The new elementary and middle schools planned to serve incoming students are not scheduled to open until Sept. 1 next year, raising concerns about a gap in educational access.
"By January next year, the bulk of the large-scale move-ins will be complete, but the school construction timeline is not keeping pace," Jeong said. "We need to accurately gauge the number of incoming students and put effective measures in place."
Choe Hyeon, head of the administrative division at the education office, said officials are considering redistributing students to nearby Jinwon Elementary School and Jangseong Nam Middle School if an early opening falls through, but acknowledged that both schools are small and face challenges with cafeteria capacity and student commutes. "We will do everything we can to achieve an early opening by March next year," he said.
Jeong stressed that children's safety and right to education must come first under any circumstances. "We will spare no effort in providing support to ensure the schools open without a hitch," he added.
sij@heraldcorp.com
