YANGJU — Relief is in sight for overcrowded middle school classrooms in Okjeong New Town, a long-standing priority for residents of the Gyeonggi Province city.
Yangju said on the 16th that a plan to build a new school, tentatively named Okjeong No. 4 Middle School, passed the fourth Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education investment review and has been finalized.
The new school is intended to ease overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of educational space, both worsened by a steady influx of residents and rising student numbers in Okjeong New Town. The school will have 22 classes and is targeted to open in March 2030.
Yangju had formally petitioned the Gyeonggi provincial education superintendent several times to establish the school and held working-level talks with the Dongducheon-Yangju Office of Education, sharing data on student growth and classroom conditions. The plan cleared a school establishment review committee at the education office in August before passing the provincial investment review, the final hurdle.
The city expects the new school to reduce class sizes at existing middle schools in the area and significantly improve student placement, giving students a more comfortable learning environment.
"The confirmation of Okjeong No. 4 Middle School is a valuable result achieved by the city, the education office and local residents pooling their wisdom," Yangju Mayor Chung Duck-young said. "We will work closely with the relevant agencies through the opening so that students' right to learn is not infringed by overcrowded classrooms."