National Human Rights Commission: "Cleaning the Teachers' Office by Students is a Human Rights Violation"

Daejeon Middle School Students' Petition Accepted
Principal Recommended to Suspend
"Restricting Student Rights Under the Pretext of Character Education"

National Human Rights Commission of Korea building. Photo by National Human Rights Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that requiring students to clean spaces used by faculty members, such as the teachers' office, constitutes a human rights violation.

On the 8th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it accepted a complaint filed by student A from a middle school in Daejeon, who claimed that having students clean the teachers' office infringed on their human rights, and recommended that the principal of the middle school cease this practice.

A, a third-year middle school student, argued that the school mandated each student to take on one role, which included cleaning the teachers' office, and that the customary practice of having students clean spaces used by faculty members violated student rights. The school, however, countered that student participation in cleaning activities contributes to creating a pleasant educational environment and community culture, and serves as a potential educational activity to cultivate character.

Nevertheless, the Human Rights Commission's Committee on the Rights of the Child stated, "Character education does not imply coercion or demands for obedience," and judged that "it is more appropriate from an educational perspective to manage spaces like the teachers' office, which are not primary activity areas for students, through voluntary applications and recognized volunteer hours." The commission particularly pointed out that the restriction of student rights under the pretext of 'character education' has been overlooked or accepted as inevitable because it was considered natural or not a significant issue.

Furthermore, the Human Rights Commission also recommended that the Superintendent of the Daejeon Office of Education prepare measures to improve cases where students are required to clean spaces primarily used by faculty members, as seen in the aforementioned school.

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