One Month Left Until School Starts: Preparation Speed at 'Neulbom School'... Continued Resistance on Site

Nationwide Provincial Offices of Education Accelerate Staff Expansion Including External Instructor Selection
School Remodeling Efforts and Consideration of University-Linked Programs
Teacher and Public Official Opposition... Effectiveness of 'Separate Teacher Management' Questioned

Provincial and metropolitan offices of education across the country have begun preliminary on-site preparations for the smooth operation of Neulbom School. External services for building educational programs, as well as classroom remodeling in some local schools, are underway in various places. However, with less than a month remaining before the new semester, there are criticisms that the preparations are insufficient, and resistance from on-site teachers remains strong.

According to the Ministry of Education and education offices on the 6th, provincial and metropolitan offices of education nationwide, including Gyeonggi, Chungbuk, and Chungnam, have been working on internal and external system restructuring for the on-site operation of Neulbom School since last month. An official from an education office explained, "This is a process of preparing by schools and regional education offices for nationwide expansion starting with the operation of Neulbom School in the first semester."

First, efforts are accelerating to select external instructors for Neulbom School. In the case of Jeonnam and Jeonbuk education offices, they have completed appointing screening committee members for selecting external instructors and are conducting additional selection processes, as well as proceeding with the hiring of 'temporary contract teachers outside the quota.' Education offices in Gangwon, Chungnam, and Chungbuk have also announced recruitment for temporary contract teachers.

Work is also underway to establish detailed programs for Neulbom School. Some education offices are developing educational programs with the cooperation of local universities, and some have confirmed plans to set up and operate a 'Neulbom School Intensive Support Team' for this purpose. Preparations have also been made to accommodate excess demand for Neulbom School. As a detailed measure for overcrowded schools, some schools are undergoing remodeling to expand Neulbom classrooms. Another education office official stated, "Since the demand from parents for Neulbom School is high, we will speed up building a system that meets this demand," adding, "We will also discuss ways to share educational programs among education offices."

The government is determined to provide full support at the central government level as parental willingness to participate in Neulbom School is high. According to a demand survey conducted by the Ministry of Education from the 1st to the 8th of last month targeting 52,655 parents of prospective first graders, 83.6% (44,035 respondents) expressed willingness to participate. Considering that even the president urged collaboration with local communities, additional administrative and financial support is expected to continue.

However, criticisms persist that preparations are slow with less than a month left before the new semester. To introduce the program nationwide in the second semester, preparations for the first semester operation should have already been completed, but there are reports that some pilot schools are not ready. Above all, there is strong opposition from public officials who will be in charge of Neulbom practical work, including teachers. Teachers protested when the Ministry of Education announced a plan for vice principals to serve as heads of Neulbom support offices in schools that are not large in scale. The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations criticized, "Vice principals' workloads are already saturated," and added, "In rural areas with many small schools, if vice principals are effectively assigned as heads of Neulbom support offices, what kind of separate teacher operation system is that?"

Concerns have also been raised that even if teachers do not participate in the Neulbom program, responsibility will ultimately fall on teachers if safety accidents or school violence issues occur. The Elementary School Teachers' Union criticized, "The biggest problem is that the management and responsibility for various safety accidents and school violence incidents occurring while students are at Neulbom School are unclear," and added, "If homeroom teachers have to handle the issues and bear all responsibility, then operating Neulbom School separately from teachers is just empty talk."

The government plans to hire 6,000 'Neulbom practical staff' such as public officials to alleviate teachers' administrative burdens related to Neulbom School, but they have also opposed the policy. The National Union of Provincial and Metropolitan Education Office Public Officials held a press conference in front of the Ministry of Education building yesterday, stating, "Local public officials are struggling to keep up with the increasing workload due to insufficient personnel," and urged, "The Ministry of Education should prepare plans to expand local public official personnel and fulfill its role as a model employer."

In response to ongoing opposition, the Ministry of Education emphasized continuing communication with the field. Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, said at a briefing on the promotion plan yesterday, "We will create a Neulbom School that satisfies not only students and parents but also teachers," and added, "To this end, we will continue to maintain close communication with students, parents, and teacher organizations."

Regarding concerns about responses to school violence at Neulbom School, a Ministry of Education official explained, "School violence is not an issue of whether it is part of the regular curriculum or whether it occurs inside or outside the school. It will be handled according to existing procedures." Regarding safety accidents, the Ministry's position is that preventive measures will be managed by the dedicated Neulbom system.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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