Chung Geunsik: "We Will Strengthen the Guarantee of Basic Academic Skills"

On October 20, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Chung Geunsik announced plans to strengthen the guarantee of "basic academic skills" to support students' personalized growth, while also focusing on nurturing talent in line with the trends of the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

During his opening remarks at the National Assembly's Education Committee audit held that day, Superintendent Chung stated, "We will work to ensure that no student is left behind in learning and that every student can achieve individualized, tailored growth by strengthening the guarantee of basic academic skills."

Superintendent Chung added, "As society transitions into a more pluralistic and multicultural environment, we need to provide careful support for students from migrant backgrounds, students with special educational needs, economically disadvantaged students, and out-of-school youth, who are all considered educationally vulnerable groups." He continued, "The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is creating inclusive, customized educational conditions and strengthening practical support to address learning deficits and educational disparities for these groups."

He also addressed the recent increase in adolescent suicides. Superintendent Chung said, "We are acutely aware of the seriousness of the worsening mental health indicators among students," and added, "We will implement universal preventive education, actively identify and support students in crisis, and operate an emergency response system for crisis situations."

Regarding the new government’s national agenda of "nurturing future talent for the AI and digital era," he said the office would keep pace by establishing an AI Education Center and strengthening students’ humanities education. Superintendent Chung emphasized, "Even in the AI digital future era, the most important abilities are reading, writing, thinking critically, and communicating." He added, "With the belief that 'reading education is future education,' the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will further strengthen reading, debate, and humanities education."

In addition, Superintendent Chung stressed that he is actively addressing the "teacher authority issue." He stated, "Teachers’ educational activities should not merely be protected, but respected," and explained, "We are working to reduce teachers’ non-instructional work, create a safe learning environment, expand psychological counseling support, and strengthen legal advisory systems so that teachers can be respected and focus on their core educational activities."

Finally, he said, "We will strengthen customized counseling and a variety of educational programs to enhance the capabilities of parents as key stakeholders in education," adding, "We will do our utmost to create a safe and pleasant educational environment where parents can feel at ease."

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