Jeonnam Education Office Restructuring Draws Divided Views: "Opposition" vs "Positive Assessment"

Teachers' Union Supports "Administrative Work Reduction" Plan
KTU Opposes, Citing "Confusion in Schools"

Teachers' organizations are sharply divided over the organizational restructuring plan of the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education, which is set to take effect on July 1.

While the Jeonnam branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) has maintained its opposition to the plan, the Jeonnam Teachers' Union (Teachers' Union) has given a positive assessment and is urging the authorities to prepare follow-up measures that are focused on the realities of the field.

On June 20, the Teachers' Union stated, "The 'School Administrative Work Reduction Plan' announced by the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education reflects many of the demands from the field," and added, "If the transfer of duties is properly implemented, the actual administrative burden on teachers will be significantly reduced."

The Teachers' Union presented specific alternatives that reflect the voices from the field, including: ▲support for field trip operations ▲transfer of school CCTV installation and management duties ▲improvement of elementary school swimming program operations ▲transfer of information technology and information security duties.

In particular, regarding field trips, the union pointed out, "The current structure, in which teachers are responsible for almost all preparations?such as preliminary site visits, schedule coordination, safety education, and securing support staff?and even bear legal responsibility in the event of an accident, must be improved."

The union further noted that "the revision of ordinances related to field trips is being delayed," and proposed practical improvement measures such as: ▲expanding the definition of field trips to include activities within the school ▲producing and distributing safety education materials ▲establishing a pool of support staff and matching them to each school ▲providing vehicle inspection and driver sobriety checks ▲offering joint preliminary site visits upon school request.

Regarding school CCTV-related duties, the union stated, "In many schools, teachers are still responsible for all procedures, including installation, maintenance, repair requests, and access notifications," and demanded, "All related duties should be fully transferred to the education support office or external professional agencies, and a system should be established so that teachers are not involved in CCTV access."

On the operation of elementary school swimming programs, the union argued, "The Ministry of Education's unilateral policy to expand the grade levels subject to swimming education has increased teachers' administrative burden and concerns about safety accidents," and insisted, "The education support office should centrally manage pool contracts, and an integrated management system that includes schedule coordination and support staff should be established."

Regarding information security and IT equipment management, the union emphasized, "Teachers are performing repetitive and inefficient tasks such as personal information education, cyber security checks, and running the NaePCJikimi program," and stressed, "These tasks should be integrated and managed at the education support office level, and the system needs to be improved accordingly."

It is reported that on June 18, the Teachers' Union directly visited the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education to propose concrete implementation measures for the 'School Administrative Work Reduction Plan.'

A union official said, "We positively evaluate the fact that this organizational restructuring plan aims to reduce administrative work in schools, but we are concerned that a concrete implementation roadmap has not been presented," and added, "We plan to continuously monitor the situation to ensure that the changes are not merely declarative but are actually felt in the field."

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam branch of the KTU has maintained its opposition, stating, "This organizational restructuring plan could cause confusion in schools," and it is expected that conflicts between education authorities and teachers' organizations will continue during the policy implementation process.

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