Elementary School Teacher Appointments Decrease in Seoul, Increase in Gyeonggi and Incheon

A teacher is conducting a remote class in an elementary school classroom in Seoul.

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Earlier this year, the scale of the elementary school teacher employment exam significantly decreased in Seoul, while it increased in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Education compiled the preliminary announced number of new elementary school teacher recruits nationwide for the 2022 academic year. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to recruit 213 teachers, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education 1,365 teachers, and the Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education 180 teachers. Compared to the previous year, Seoul decreased by 91, while Gyeonggi and Incheon increased by 146 and 4, respectively.

The total recruitment scale in the metropolitan area is 1,758, which is 59 more than the recruitment announcement in September last year (1,699).

The number of teachers recruited through the employment exam is determined by reflecting factors such as retirement age, honorary retirement, and reductions in the number of students and classes. Recently, as the school-age population has decreased and the population moving from Seoul to new towns in the metropolitan area has increased due to soaring real estate prices, the scale of recruitment in Seoul has significantly decreased.

2022 Academic Year Preliminary Notice of Public Elementary School Teacher Recruitment Numbers by City and Province (Source: Ministry of Education)

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The total number of elementary school teacher recruits preliminarily announced by the 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education is 3,455. Compared to the recruitment announcement in September last year, this is a decrease of 409.

The regions where the number of recruits increased compared to last year are Gyeonggi (1,219 → 1,365), Incheon (176 → 180), and Chungbuk (75 → 86), totaling three areas. On the other hand, regions such as Jeonnam (308 → 190), Ulsan (157 → 80), Daegu (90 → 50), Daejeon (20 → 10), and Gwangju (11 → 6) saw their numbers reduced by about half.

The Ministry of Education stated, "The final announcement of this year's employment exam will be confirmed in September, and it is expected to recruit at a level of 3,380 to 3,580, which is the scale of recruitment in the teacher supply and demand plan announced on July 23 last year."

Comparison of Recruitment Numbers for Teacher Appointment Exams in Kindergartens, Elementary, and Special Schools by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education for 2021 and 2022 Academic Years (Data=Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education)

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On this day, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that the total number of planned recruits for the public kindergarten, elementary school, and special school teacher candidate selection competitive exam is 279, a decrease of 185 compared to the previous year. The number of recruits by field is 213 elementary school teachers, 40 kindergarten teachers, 23 special elementary school teachers, and 3 special kindergarten teachers. Elementary school teachers decreased by 91, kindergarten teachers by 50, special elementary school teachers by 32, and special kindergarten teachers by 12 compared to last year.

The number of public kindergarten, elementary school, and special school teachers recruited in Seoul over the past five years is ▲2017: 902 ▲2018: 718 ▲2019: 607 ▲2020: 617 ▲2021: 464. In particular, the number of elementary school teachers decreased by 74.8%, from 846 in 2017 to 213 this year.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will provide details on the final recruitment fields, numbers, and specifics in the exam implementation plan announcement on September 15. The first written exam will be held on November 13. Preliminary announcements for public secondary school teachers and health, librarian, nutrition, professional counseling, and special (secondary) teacher employment exams will be provided later.

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