Reduction of New Elementary, Middle, and High School Teacher Recruitment by Up to 20-30% by 2027

by Yoo Byeongdon

Published 24 Apr.2023 12:29(KST)

Ministry of Education Announces 'Mid- to Long-Term Supply and Demand Plan for Elementary and Secondary School Teachers'

Considering the sharp decline in the school-age population, the scale of new teacher recruitment for elementary, middle, and high schools will be reduced by about 20-30% by 2027 compared to the current level.

The Ministry of Education announced the "Mid- to Long-term (2024?2027) Supply and Demand Plan for Elementary and Secondary School Teachers" focusing on this matter on the 24th.

First, the Ministry decided to reduce new teacher recruitment in light of the rapidly decreasing number of students.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

For the 2024 and 2025 academic years, new elementary teacher recruitment will be between 2,900 and 3,200 annually, which is 10.1% to 18.6% less than the 3,561 new hires conducted at the end of last year for the 2023 academic year. For the 2026 and 2027 academic years, new recruitment will be between 2,600 and 2,900, representing a maximum decrease of 27.0%.

For secondary schools (middle and high schools), new recruitment for the 2024 and 2025 academic years will be between 4,000 and 4,500, which is 8.1% to 18.3% less than the 4,898 hires in 2023. For the 2026 and 2027 academic years, it will be around 3,500 to 4,000, a maximum reduction of 28.5%.

Through this mid- to long-term teacher supply and demand plan, the Ministry expects that by 2027, the number of students per teacher in elementary schools (12.4 students) and the number of students per class (15.9 students) will be lower than the OECD average (14.4 and 20.3 respectively, based on 2020 data), thereby improving educational conditions.

For middle and high schools, the number of students per teacher in 2027 is expected to be 12.3, lower than the OECD average of 13.6 (2020). However, the number of students per class (24.4 in 2027, compared to the OECD average of 22.6 in 2020) is projected to improve after 2028.

The Ministry also plans to reflect the significant differences in educational environments by region, such as rural, farming, fishing villages, and new towns, in teacher supply and demand.

In 1,100 small elementary schools located in population-declining areas (89 local governments), the Ministry will assign the minimum necessary number of teachers to ensure students' right to learn is not compromised. Additionally, in areas with population influx, teachers will be separately secured for the establishment of new schools and classes to reduce overcrowded classes.

To ensure the smooth operation of information technology classes, which will be expanded from 2025, at least one information technology teacher will be assigned to every middle and high school, and dedicated information technology teachers will be appointed in elementary schools of a certain size or larger.

As of last year, 2,500 information teachers (in national and public schools) are assigned across 3,800 middle and high schools (excluding vocational high schools).

The Ministry will also add learning support teachers for grades 1 and 2 in elementary schools to reduce learning gaps among students.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, explained, "The role of teachers is crucial to turning the decline in student numbers into an opportunity to improve the quality of education," adding, "We will support teachers to lead changes in classes and undertake various innovative attempts."