A teacher talks to elementary students after class in this July 15, 2022 file photo. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

Seoul's education office plans to spend about 80 billion won ($62.9 million) this year to help make up for students' learning loss caused by COVID-19, its chief said Tuesday.

Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said that wearing a mask for a long time may have caused developmental retardation and other forms of learning loss among young students and learning support assistants will be newly hired to help the affected ones.

To that end, the office will spend 79 billion won to recruit teacher certificate holders with abundant learning guidance and counseling capabilities and prospective teachers as full-time, fixed-term learning support assistants, Cho said in a news conference.

The office will provide school supplies worth 50,000 won to each new elementary school student to help support their stable education, he said.

Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, announces his office's key policies for the new year in a news conference in Seoul, Jan. 3. Yonhap

Beginning in March, the operating hours of after-school care classes at public elementary schools will be extended by one hour to 8 p.m., depending on demand.

In order to help ease parents' financial burden, all 565 public elementary schools in the capital will provide free refreshments to all after-school care class students.

The education office will also strengthen artificial intelligence learning opportunities and digital literacy education, and expand the supply of smart mobile learning devices, Cho said. (Yonhap)