Jeonnam Health Teachers Strongly Criticize Education Office Union for Obstructing Job Revision Proposal

Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The conflict between the Jeonnam Health Teachers Association and the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Labor Union is expected to deepen over the withdrawal of the agenda on the ‘Amendment related to health teachers' duties.’

On the 16th, the Jeonnam Health Teachers Association expressed its position regarding the withdrawn agenda of the ‘Proposal to amend the Enforcement Decree of the School Health Act related to health teachers' duties,’ which was withdrawn following protests from the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Labor Union (hereinafter Jeonnam Education Office Labor Union).

The Health Teachers Association strongly criticized, saying, “Jeong Seok-woong, the Jeonnam Superintendent of Education, promised in his campaign pledge to ‘reorganize the system to separate the health education team and the educational environment team so that health teachers can focus on student health management and health education, and to strive to have the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the School Health Act related to health teachers' duties adopted as an agenda item at the Council of Provincial Superintendents of Education.’ However, he has lowered the morale of health teachers by appearing to succumb to the tyranny of the Jeonnam Education Office Labor Union.”

They stated, “The current health teachers' duty regulations were created in 1990 and have not reflected social changes over time. In particular, there is a legal contradiction that violates the School Health Act amended in 2007. The Jeonnam Education Office Labor Union misled the public as if health teachers were abandoning students' health rights and shifting health teachers' duties to the administrative office without accurate information or a cool-headed comparison of the current law and the Jeonnam Office of Education’s amendment proposal,” expressing disappointment.

They also argued, “According to Article 4 of the School Health Act, the term ‘environmental hygiene’ is used to mean facility management such as installation and management of water supply and sewage, restrooms, temperature and humidity control, noise, vibration, and air quality at schools, and it is not appropriate as a legal duty of health teachers responsible for student education. Many tasks such as cleaning and managing water tanks, managing water purifiers, managing air purifiers, disinfecting school buildings, and managing restrooms are being shifted onto health teachers.”

They added, “We hope that Superintendent Jeong Seok-woong’s pledge will not become an empty promise. Furthermore, the Jeonnam Education Office Labor Union, which flaunts majority power and solves educational issues in the most anti-educational manner, must immediately stop deceiving Jeonnam residents and parents with distorted information,” raising their voices.

According to the ‘Health Teacher Deployment Status’ investigated by the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, health teachers are deployed in 297 elementary schools, 102 middle schools, 108 high schools, and 8 special schools, totaling 515 schools.

A representative of the Jeonnam Education Office Labor Union said, “If health teachers want to amend the enforcement decree, alternatives must be prepared in advance to find solutions before proceeding. If the law is amended unconditionally according to their demands without alternatives, who will be responsible for tasks related to students' health and safety?”

They continued, “I want to ask whether the Office of Education submitted the agenda to the Council of Provincial Superintendents of Education after preparing alternatives through prior investigation. The union pointed out the Office of Education’s faulty administration that overlooked the importance of student health management, not to dispute with health teachers,” they added.

An official from the Office of Education stated, “38% of schools in Jeonnam do not have health teachers. The urgent issue is to assign teachers to schools without health teachers rather than dividing current duties. Since it concerns student health, we hope the Health Teachers Association and the labor union will cooperate to resolve the conflict.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.