Education Ministry prepares for nationwide RISE expansion with regional meetings

The Ministry of Education announced Friday that it will be meeting with local governments and universities ahead of the deadline to expand the Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) project to all regions in 2025.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho explains the Regional Innovation System & Education project during a meeting held last year. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of Education announced Friday that it will be meeting with local governments and universities ahead of the deadline to expand the Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) project to all regions in 2025.

The Education Ministry and its RISE Committee will meet with officials from local governments and universities in the greater Seoul and Gangwon areas on Friday at the Seoul Partners House in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

The ministry and committee will be visiting the Chungcheong area on Aug. 16, the Honam area — referring to Gwangju and Jeolla provinces — on Aug. 23. They will also be visiting Daegu, North Gyeongsang and Jeju Island on Aug. 26 and Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang on Aug. 30.

These on-site meetings are being held in preparation for RISE's expansion to all local governments by 2025.

Under the RISE project, local governments will gain central government powers over the management and supervision of universities, including the allocation of more than half the Education Ministry’s annual budget for universities. The government expects this change to encourage local governments and universities to collaborate more effectively, focusing funding on areas that can drive regional innovation.

Currently, seven local governments — Daegu, Busan, South Gyeongsang, North Gyeongsang, South Jeolla, North Jeolla and North Chungcheong — are participating in the RISE project.

During the meetings, the Education Ministry will review how existing RISE initiatives are being implemented, assess communication between local governments and universities and determine if further support is needed to advance the project.

"We will do our best to ensure that the RISE project is applied to all regions starting next year," said Yoon So-young, head of the Ministry of Education's Regional Human Capital Policy Bureau. "With these on-site visits, we will offer consultations and assess the situation in each local government to provide support where necessary."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]