Park Jong-hoon, Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education, "Can't Lose More Teachers" ... Actively Protecting Educational Activities

"We can no longer afford to lose teachers. Restoring the educational school community and establishing a social safety net are the most urgent core tasks to be resolved."

On the 18th, Park Jong-hoon, Superintendent of Gyeongnam Office of Education, made this statement while announcing measures to strengthen the protection of educational activities at the provincial education office press room.

Superintendent Park stated that under the goal of "a school where everyone is respected through the protection of educational activities," a comprehensive plan was established to protect both teachers' authority and students' right to learn.

The plan includes ▲establishing an institution-centered complaint response system ▲customized legal support and special training ▲support for personnel dedicated to guaranteeing learning rights ▲regular psychological testing for all teachers and support for counseling and treatment.

The provincial education office plans to unify the complaint window for educational activities so that teachers do not have to handle educational complaints alone, and to respond to complaints centered on the school principal rather than individuals.

Teachers will be protected from demands beyond their job scope, illegal and unfair requests, persistent and repetitive similar complaints, continuous requests for meetings or phone calls, public petitions through outsiders, excessive information disclosure requests, and retaliatory complaints.

Complaints that cannot be resolved at the school level will be transferred to the complaint response team of the education support office, composed of supervisors, experts in protecting teachers' authority, and conflict mediators, while legal disputes or serious matters will be handled by the education office.

Legal responsiveness to special complaints will also be enhanced through the superintendent's right to file complaints.

Park Jong-hoon, Superintendent of Gyeongnam Education, is announcing measures to strengthen the protection of educational activities.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

For teachers falsely accused of child abuse, customized legal support will be provided, including lawyer appointment, advance payment of litigation costs, and document preparation.

Support will also be provided through the School Teachers' Authority Protection Committee experts, establishment of a support system for experts responding to teachers' authority protection, and operation of special training programs for teachers accused of child abuse.

Through the revision of the personnel management standards for educational officials in the second semester of 2023, an advisory body for suspension of positions due to child abuse reports will be created and operated starting January next year.

A call connection tone service informing that calls may be recorded according to laws will be provided to all schools.

Reflecting voices from the school field that support is somewhat slow, the speed of providing a two-number service that assigns work contact numbers to teachers who wish to have them will also be increased.

All schools in the province will be provided with wired phones capable of recording calls, public mobile phones for activities outside school will be opened, and coverage of teachers' liability insurance will be expanded.

Assistant personnel will be proactively deployed to classes with students disrupting lessons, and if disruption continues, the student will be separated from the classroom through consultation among faculty and staff.

From March 1 next year, a total of 500 dedicated instructors for basic academic skills will be supported for students who need basic academic support due to complex factors such as borderline intelligence, reading difficulties, and emotional problems.

Psychological testing for all teachers in the province will be regularized, and professional treatment and counseling fees linked with external psychological counseling institutions will also be provided.

Superintendent Park said, "We plan to conduct psychological tests for teachers who wish to participate this October," adding, "We will conduct tests annually to take care of teachers' mental health and help ensure healthy educational activities."

He continued, "Reforms that change the essence of education can only be achieved when the awareness of all members of society is transformed and everyone works together," and added, "Beyond protecting educational activities, the Gyeongnam Office of Education will concentrate all its capabilities to help schools regain hope."

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