Assemblyman Seodongyong Criticizes Poor Management Including Non-Assignment of Nutrition Teachers for Kindergarten Meals

54 Schools Nationwide Violating School Meal Act by Not Assigning Nutritionists or Nutrition Teachers

62% of Private Kindergartens Have One Nutritionist Managing Two Kindergartens

Assemblyman Seo: "One Person Managing Two Kindergartens Is Impossible; Budget Should Not Be Saved on Preventing Poor Meals and Food Poisoning"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] It has been revealed that the management of kindergarten nutrition teachers, who are responsible for systematically managing kindergarten meals and hygiene such as preventing food poisoning, is still inadequate.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to Seo Dong-yong, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Suncheon, Gwangyang, Gokseong, and Gurye-eul), a total of 54 kindergartens nationwide (including one national kindergarten) do not have nutritionists or nutrition teachers assigned.

The rate of one nutritionist or nutrition teacher jointly managing two kindergartens was 62% (based on private kindergartens with 100 to 199 children), and even among large private kindergartens with 200 or more children, which are required to have one nutrition teacher per kindergarten, 9% nationwide were jointly managed.

This contrasts sharply with public kindergartens, where the joint management rate is only 0.8% and all have completed full staffing.

After the so-called hamburger disease incident in 2020, a mass food poisoning outbreak at a kindergarten in Ansan that brought management failures to the forefront, all kindergarten meals for 50 or more children were converted to school meals under the School Meals Act.

Additionally, kindergartens with 100 to 199 children are required to have one nutrition teacher assigned to a maximum of two kindergartens, and kindergartens with 200 or more children are mandated to have one nutrition teacher per kindergarten.

Nationwide, 54 kindergartens lacked both nutrition teachers and nutritionists, with the highest numbers found in Gyeonggi-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do.

The rate of one nutritionist or nutrition teacher jointly managing two kindergartens (based on 100 to 199 children) was highest in Gwangju, Daejeon, and Gyeonggi, while large kindergartens with 200 or more children that are required to have one nutrition teacher per kindergarten were found to be violating the School Meals Act without even nutritionist assignments, particularly in Gangwon, Daejeon, and Jeollanam-do.

Regarding financial support such as personnel expenses for nutritionists and nutrition teachers in private kindergartens by city and province, only four out of the 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide?Seoul, Daegu, Jeollanam-do, and Jeju?have stipulated the School Meals Act as the basis for support.

Furthermore, Daegu Office of Education was the only one nationwide providing personnel expense support to nutritionists who are not teachers.

Meanwhile, the nationwide placement rate of nutritionists in kindergartens was 88.2%, significantly higher than the 11.8% for nutrition teachers, and the overall proportion of non-regular workers among nutritionists and nutrition teachers was 56.4%.

Despite the overwhelming proportion of nutritionist placements, support from the offices of education for the field was insufficient.

The high rate of non-regular workers raises concerns about employment instability, such as the lack of continuous job security, which may lead to poor meal management, and the metropolitan and provincial offices of education may not be free from criticism.

Additionally, kindergartens with 50 to 99 children are also included in school meals, but the offices of education have not even been able to compile related statistics, and there are no regulations regarding the placement of nutritionists and nutrition teachers, highlighting the urgent need for measures to ensure the safety of meals in small-scale kindergartens.

Assemblyman Seo Dong-yong stated, “Although the proportion of nutritionist personnel is high, there are no practical alternatives or support from the offices of education, so the field hires non-regular workers to save costs, resulting in overall poor personnel management.” He emphasized, “It is practically impossible for one nutritionist or nutrition teacher to properly manage two kindergartens.” He added, “We must expedite the placement of nutrition teachers in kindergartens where they are not assigned and establish a principle of one nutrition teacher per kindergarten so that children can safely eat high-quality meals, investing budget and personnel accordingly.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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