The Education Ministry announced details on Tuesday of its plans to help children from multicultural families at schools, including a test-run of programs for kindergarten children this year.

The kindergarten programs are designed to address special linguistic or educational needs that multicultural children may face before they begin elementary school.

Children of migrant families will follow the regular curriculum with Korean children and receive customized instruction when it is deemed necessary.

The ministry selected 30 kindergartens in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, South Chungcheong Province, South Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province for the programs. They will receive 7 million won from this year to invest in education for children from multicultural backgrounds.

The proportion of multicultural students in Korean elementary, middle and high schools has risen from 0.35 percent in 2009 to 1.07 percent in 2014. As of last year, there were over 67,000 multicultural students enrolled, with some additional 121,000 children who have not yet begun school.

The Ministry also announced that it would expand the number of elementary and secondary schools offering intensive Korean language lessons and multicultural awareness training from 80 to 100 this year.

Other programs, such as special leadership and vocational training for multicultural students, will also be expanded this year, the Ministry said.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)