Seodaehyun, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member, Points Out "Insufficient Placement of Special Education Teachers in Jeonnam Region"

Special education students in the Jeonnam region are reportedly facing difficulties due to a shortage of personnel and budget.

The Jeonnam Provincial Council announced on the 20th that Assemblyman Seo Dae-hyun (Democratic Party·Yeosu 2) officially proposed the “Resolution Urging Measures Such as Expansion of Special Education Teachers to Strengthen the Guarantee of Learning Rights for Special Education Students” at the 2nd plenary session of the 375th extraordinary meeting.

Seodaehyun, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

This resolution calls for the amendment of the “Special Education Act for Persons with Disabilities, etc.” to ensure that the learning rights of special education students are not infringed due to a shortage of special education teachers in frontline schools where the number of special education students is increasing every year.

Assemblyman Seo pointed out, “The number of special education students this year has increased by 18% compared to four years ago, and the number of special education students in kindergartens has increased by 46.6%. However, even after 15 years since its implementation, the Special Education Act still maintains the placement standard of ‘one teacher per four students.’”

He continued, “Due to the low placement rate of special education teachers, Jeonnam is the only local government nationwide that meets the legal standard, while most regions have insufficient placement of special education teachers. Additionally, 72.8% of all special education students are placed in special classes and general classes in regular schools rather than special schools,” he added.

He further stated, “In frontline schools, it is common for special education students to either receive education in special classes due to a lack of special education teachers and support staff or be placed in general classes without special education teachers. Therefore, the legal standard for special education teachers in the Special Education Act should be revised to ‘one teacher per three students,’ and the proportion of the special education budget should be increased.”

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