Korea to increase mentoring program for students of diverse backgrounds

Korea has decided to increase the budget for the mentorship program for students from multicultural families and those from a North Korean background to better support their needs including education, the government said Tuesday.

The government allocated 15.6 billion won ($11.7 million) for the program this year, more than double last year’s 6.7 billion won, according to the Ministry of Education and the Korea Student Aid Foundation.

The program, launched at teachers’ colleges in 2009, matches undergraduate or graduate student mentors with underage students with a multicultural background to help them learn the Korean language and culture and adjust to school life.

The measure comes amid a growing number of students who are immigrants or who have immigrant parents.

The number of multicultural students in elementary, middle and high school students in Korea stood at 181,178 last year, a four-fold jump from 46,954 in 2012.

The program is also doubling the number of mentoring hours from 520,000 to 1.04 million.

The stipend for student mentors was also raised to incentivize their engagement in the program.

From this year, mentors will receive 14,000 per hour if they attend a school in the city and 18,000 per hour if their school is in a rural area. Last year, they were paid 12,500 won and 15,000, respectively.

Additionally, the mentoring program will start a month earlier this year, in March, to coincide with the beginning of the spring semester.

“The ministry plans to continue support so that all students, regardless of their background, can increase their potential and grow their talents as a member of our society,” Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said.