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By Jun Ji-hye
Ten weekend-childcare facilities will open in Seoul for parents who have to work Saturdays and Sundays, as part of the comprehensive childcare assistance project pushed by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), Thursday, the facilities will begin operation in June at the earliest.
The city government will also build four additional centers that are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for infants and toddlers increasing the number of such facilities in the city to 15 by the end of the year.
The city government is planning to build at least one weekend-childcare facility or one 365-day center in every 25 districts of the country's capital.
The city government will invest about 1.9 trillion won ($1.5 billion) this year for these two plans and seven others aimed at offering better childcare services for parents residing in the city.
"There has been growing demand for childcare services offered during weekends," a city government official said.
The city government is also planning to increase the ratio of public childcare facilities in the capital from the current 36.4 percent to 43 percent by the end of the year.
This would be done by transforming existing private childcare facilities into public ones or building new public institutions at apartment complexes where demand is high.
In March, the city government will select 100 childcare facilities to which it will send staff to help prepare dinner for the increased number of children.
So far, dinner at childcare centers has only been offered to a limited number of children whose parents applied for night childcare services in advance, due mainly to a personnel shortage.
The provision of support staff by the city government will give the option to children to have dinner at minding facilities, before going home.
In a bid to increase the quality of childcare services, the ratio of children to teachers will be improved, beginning with 400 facilities.
The children-to-teacher ratio for those under the age of one will decrease from the current 3:1 to 2:1, while the ratio for those under the age of three will be reduced to 10:1 from the current 15:1.
Other plans include offering a variety of education both online and offline for new parents. Curriculums will include the development of healthy eating habits in children and play-based learning.
In addition, relevant books and video clips will consistently be provided.
"We will try our best so the plans can substantially help parents," said Kim Seon-soon who oversees family policies at the city government.
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