Former Deputy Minister of Education Younggon Kim: "Is a Child’s Entire Day, from Arrival to After School, Truly Safe?"

Proposal for a Comprehensive Review of the Responsibility System for Gyeongnam Students’ Entire Day

Younggon Kim, former Deputy Minister of Education, has officially raised the need for a comprehensive review of the entire day of students in Gyeongnam Province, arguing that the scope of educational responsibility should be expanded from inside the classroom to encompass the child’s entire day.

Younggon Kim, Former Deputy Minister of Education.

On January 28, through his personal social media account, former Deputy Minister Kim stated, “Education does not end with a 45-minute lesson in a textbook,” and explained, “The entire day of a child-from the moment they arrive at school, to after-school care, and even the time they return home-falls within the domain of educational responsibility.”

He pointed out that the current management system of education in Gyeongnam faces structural limitations, including a responsibility structure centered on class hours, a fragmented management approach by system and project, and unclear accountability for care, after-school programs, and commuting safety.

In particular, Kim emphasized, “With a structure where the Office of Education is responsible inside the school and responsibility is shifted to guardians and the field outside the school, we cannot fully protect a child’s entire day,” adding, “The times when most accidents and crises occur are always at the boundaries of the system, at the edges of the day.”

He assessed, “Measures taken after an accident are merely consolation; the essence of educational administration is to create a structure that assumes responsibility before accidents occur.”

He further stated that this proposal is not a simple inspection or a one-time campaign, but an issue of redefining the superintendent’s concept of responsibility. “As educational policies have increased, the question of ‘who is ultimately responsible?’ has become blurred. The superintendent should not be a position of authority, but the final person responsible for a child’s entire day,” he stressed.

He added, “It is time to end an education system where successes are claimed as achievements, but problems are shifted to the field as someone else’s responsibility.”

Former Deputy Minister Kim asserted, “What parents are most curious about is not the report card, but whether their child was safe and well cared for today,” and declared, “Restoring trust in Gyeongnam education will begin by establishing clear standards of responsibility for the child’s entire day.”

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