Sim Chang-wook, Gwangju City Council Member, "Serious Issue with the Proportion of Contract Teachers in Private Schools"

Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Plans to Lower Secondary Entrusted Exam Participation to Appropriate Level

The proportion of fixed-term teachers in private schools in Gwangju Metropolitan City has been pointed out to have exceeded the provincial level and reached a serious level.

On the 3rd, Shim Chang-wook, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Council, expressed concerns at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education's administrative audit that the excessive hiring of fixed-term teachers in private schools is serious and could lead to a second Myeongjin High School incident.

Councilor Shim stated, "Looking at the overall hiring status of fixed-term teachers in private schools in Gwangju, the rate reaches 35.8% in middle schools and 36.4% in high schools. In particular, there are three middle schools and ten high schools where the hiring rate exceeds half of the quota," adding, "What is even more serious is that in one school, out of 49 teacher positions, as many as 29 are fixed-term teachers, accounting for 59.2%, which is a very serious level."

He continued, "Fixed-term teachers have a positive function in quickly replacing vacancies of regular teachers," but argued, "Although they majored in related fields, they have less experience, and even though their personal leadership cannot be compared, since they have not passed the teacher qualification appointment exam required for regular teachers, the impact on students is not insignificant."

Furthermore, he added, "The reality that homeroom teachers, who should be fully responsible for continuously guiding, managing, and supervising students, are being assigned to fixed-term teachers does not align with the Ministry of Education's direction," and emphasized, "This must be corrected in terms of students' emotional aspects and management."

In response, the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education acknowledged that while fixed-term teachers are necessary to cope with quota reductions amid the trend of reducing the number of regular teachers, they agreed with concerns about the currently high proportion of fixed-term teachers.

An official from the Office of Education said, "There are 23 private school corporations in the Gwangju area participating in the public middle school entrusted exam to be held on the 25th, and a total of 126 teachers are planned to be hired," adding, "We plan to reduce the proportion of fixed-term teachers through entrusted exams and other measures."

He continued, "For corporations not participating in the entrusted exam, we are encouraging participation through 'visiting private school policy meetings' and explanations of plans promoted by the Office of Education," and stated, "We will strive to lower the rate to an appropriate level of 25-30%."

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