No Way to Stop Class Disruption and Violence... Is There a Solution to the Deepening Violation of Teacher Authority?

Infringement on Educational Activities, Over 2,000 Cases Reported Annually Except in 2020
95.0% Respond That Student Learning Rights and Teacher Authority Are 'Seriously' Violated
"Strengthen Teachers' Authority in Student Discipline" Urged

A video showing a male student lying on the podium in a classroom of a middle school in Chungnam, filming the teacher during class, has spread online. Photo by TikTok capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Recently, a video showing a male middle school student lying on the podium and filming a teacher during class has spread online, raising concerns about the decline of teacher authority. Despite the continuous occurrence of incidents infringing on educational activities and even assaults against teachers, there is a lack of appropriate solutions.

On the 26th, a video about 12 seconds long was uploaded on the online video platform 'TikTok,' showing a male student lying on the podium filming the teacher during class. Although there were many other students in the classroom, no one stopped the student's behavior. The school in the video is known to be a middle school in Chungnam Province.

The video quickly spread, surpassing 60,000 views within six hours. The account that uploaded the video also posted clips showing a male student taking off his shirt and talking to the teacher during class, and using a voice-enabled chat app during lessons. Comments on the video expressed concerns about teacher authority, such as "The school has become a mess" and "Teacher authority has collapsed."

Concerns about the decline of teacher authority are rising as incidents of teacher rights violations continue to occur. [Image source=Pixabay]

Incidents infringing on educational activities continue to be reported. According to the Ministry of Education on the 29th, 2,269 such incidents were reported last year, and over the past five years, the total number reached 11,148. Except for 2020, when face-to-face classes were limited due to COVID-19 (1,197 cases), more than 2,000 cases have been reported annually.

The perceived severity of infringements on teachers was also high. According to a survey conducted last month by the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) targeting 8,655 teachers from kindergarten to high school, 95.0% responded that infringements on students' learning rights and teachers' authority were "serious" (69.0% very serious, 26.0% serious). The number of consultations related to teacher authority infringements received by KFTA nearly doubled from 287 cases in 2011 to 437 cases in 2021 over ten years.

There are also calls for action as some incidents escalate beyond simple class disruptions to assaults. In June, in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, an elementary student verbally abused a homeroom teacher who tried to stop a fight and then threatened the teacher with a double-edged woodworking saw. According to the Ministry of Education, among the 11,148 educational activity infringement cases over five years, 887 cases (7.9%) involved injury or assault against teachers.

There are voices calling for measures as it can escalate into assault cases.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response to this situation, the education sector is calling for solutions such as legal amendments to strengthen teachers' authority in student discipline. On the 18th, Representative Lee Tae-gyu of the National Assembly's Education Committee introduced a partial amendment bill to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Special Act on the Status and Protection of Teachers (Teacher Status Act) to guarantee teacher authority and students' learning rights against disruptive students.

The proposed amendments to the Teacher Status Act include △ recording disciplinary actions by the Teacher Authority Protection Committee against students infringing on teacher authority in the student record △ separating students who infringe on teacher authority from the affected teachers △ obligating the state and local governments to prepare and implement student discipline plans. According to this, if a student assaults a teacher, the incident can be recorded in the student's school record. It also provides grounds to remove problematic students from the classroom to stop disruptive behavior.

Interest in enacting student human rights ordinances is also growing again. In recent years, metropolitan and provincial offices of education have worked to enact student human rights ordinances to respect students' rights. Currently, Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk have enacted such ordinances. However, in regions like Gyeongnam and Ulsan, where the ordinances were rejected, opposition was strong, and the review was postponed, resulting in failure to enact.

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