Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to Promote Organizational Restructuring... Establishment of Special Education Division and Future School Promotion Team

Expansion of School Health Promotion Institute Functions for COVID-19 Response
Allocation of Local Government Staff Quotas to Schools After 7 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to reorganize its structure starting March next year by establishing a Special Education Department and a Future School Promotion Team, as well as expanding the functions of the School Health Promotion Institute.

On the 26th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that to transition to a future education system and overcome COVID-19, it will implement an organizational restructuring effective March 1 and improve the criteria for allocating local government staff to ensure the establishment of a school autonomous operation system.

The main points of the reorganization include the establishment of a Special Education Department with four teams to activate inclusive education and strengthen support for special education. This is the first time that a Special Education Department of this size has been established among metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide.

A Future Education Promotion Team will be established to smoothly promote the Green Smart Future School project and to create school spaces that flexibly respond to future education curricula.

To expand the functions of the School Health Promotion Institute, three new divisions will be created: Health Support Division, Environmental Support Division, and Dietary Support Division. This aims to strengthen the quarantine safety net in the COVID-19 era and professionally handle health and environmental tasks such as student health and climate crisis.

New positions have also been created to strengthen support functions in the education field. These include the 'Counseling and Mental Health Officer' to provide integrated support for recovery from emotional and social deficits in students, the 'Alternative Education and Out-of-School Youth Support Officer' to assist students at risk of dropping out and out-of-school youth, and the 'Elementary Education and Care Support Officer' to support elementary after-school care programs and all-day care systems.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will improve the criteria for allocating local government staff to schools at all levels for the first time in seven years to reflect changes in educational conditions and new administrative demands due to COVID-19. Increases in staff will be applied from next year, while reductions will begin in 2023.

Administrative personnel at standalone kindergartens (43 institutions) will be adjusted from one to two staff members. The staffing allocation ranges for elementary and middle schools will also be adjusted. For elementary schools, schools with 42 classes or fewer will have 3 staff, 43 to 57 classes will have 4 staff, and 58 or more classes will have 5 staff, resulting in an increase of one staff member at 45 schools (13.5%). For middle schools, the allocation will be adjusted to 3 staff for 16 classes or fewer, 4 staff for 17 to 42 classes, and 5 staff for 43 or more classes, increasing staff by one at 38 schools (13.9%).

Due to the implementation of free education, staffing at high schools will be reduced. For general, autonomous, and commercial high schools, the allocation will be adjusted to 4 staff for 23 classes or fewer, 5 staff for 24 to 35 classes, and 6 staff for 36 or more classes, resulting in a reduction of one staff member at 53 schools (53.5%). For technical high schools, the allocation will be adjusted to 5 staff for 23 classes or fewer, 6 staff for 24 to 35 classes, and 7 staff for 36 or more classes, reducing staff by one at 7 schools (58.3%).

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained, "We will wisely cope with the difficulties faced in the education field during the COVID-19 period, enhance satisfaction with Seoul education among education demanders through appropriate staff reallocation, and contribute to establishing a school autonomous operation system by strengthening support for schools."

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will announce the draft amendment to the administrative organization installation ordinance enforcement rules for public comment from January 1 to 20 next year. After various impact assessments and a review by the Legislative Deliberation Committee on the 28th of next month, the enforcement rules will be promulgated and implemented on March 1 next year.

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