청, 어린이집 교사 증원 청원에 "1000명 추가 배치"

Parents Who Lost Child in Daycare Outdoor Activity Accident Petition for System Reform... "Additional Assistant Teachers and Eased Teacher-to-Child Ratios Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House announced that it will add 1,000 assistant teachers to daycare centers this year in response to the national petition for increasing the number of daycare teachers.

Yang Seong-il, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, responded on the 12th to the national petition titled "Increase the Number of Daycare Teachers," which was posted by parents who lost their children in an accident during outdoor activities at a daycare center. The petition gathered participation from 206,000 citizens. It demands improvement of the current system where one homeroom teacher cares for 20 children and calls for legislative amendments to increase the number of homeroom childcare teachers by age group.

Vice Minister Yang stated, "The government has been steadily expanding the number of assistant teachers, and currently, 37,000 assistant teachers are assigned to daycare centers to assist homeroom teachers during both indoor and outdoor activities, helping to ease the teacher-to-child ratio," adding, "In 2021, about 1,000 additional assistant teachers will be supported." Assistant teachers will be prioritized during times when homeroom teachers are heavily engaged in childcare duties, as well as during outdoor play and field trips.

The view of the Blue House from Namsan, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Vice Minister Yang said, "Reducing and preventing safety accidents at daycare centers to protect our children's safety is a very important task," and added, "To prevent safety accidents, it is necessary to create an environment where childcare teachers can focus on child safety."

He explained, "We will raise safety awareness among all childcare staff, including directors and assistant teachers, and strengthen the foundation for observing and protecting infants and toddlers," noting that "recent amendments to the Infant Care Act and the Act on Child Safety Management have made education on safety during drop-off and pick-up times, including emergency first aid training, mandatory."

Vice Minister Yang also added, "We will comprehensively review the appropriate teacher-to-child ratio in daycare centers."

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