President Yoon: "We Will Find Ways to Establish Teachers' Authority... Must Accelerate the Pace of Educational Innovation" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that he will directly meet with on-site teachers to find fundamental solutions for establishing teachers' authority. He also urged that the pace of educational innovation must be accelerated in line with the speed of social development.

On the afternoon of the 17th, President Yoon attended the 'Education Sector New Year's Greeting Ceremony' held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, saying, "We will change the educational environment for both teachers and students."

The Education Sector New Year's Greeting Ceremony is the largest annual event in the education sector, attended by teachers from kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as universities, and representatives of education-related organizations and institutions. The president's attendance at this event is the first in eight years since former President Park Geun-hye in 2016.

President Yoon said, "When meeting with leaders of various countries around the world, there is great interest in our education and many wish for cooperation in the education field. However, teachers at the education sites face great difficulties in guiding children."

He added, "There were heartbreaking incidents last year, and the issue of school violence has not subsided. Teachers' authority must be established to guarantee students' rights, and in that sense, establishing teachers' authority is ultimately for the students." President Yoon emphasized, "Last year, we amended the five laws protecting teachers' rights and improved the system so that school violence investigations are handled by experts rather than teachers, expanding the School Police Officer (SPO) system. We will continue to listen carefully to teachers' voices and seek more fundamental solutions."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

President Yoon urged that while accelerating educational innovation in line with the pace of social development, digital literacy should be enhanced for children's future. He said, "I believe that education should respect freedom of choice, embrace diversity in content, and nurture creative talents, with creativity being the most important. We must all work together to diversify educational programs and cultivate students' creativity boundlessly."

He added, "Above all, shouldn't schools be enjoyable? In countries where public education works well, schools are fundamentally fun, and students want to go to school." President Yoon shared, "I visited the Netherlands at the end of last year. Their public education is truly well-established, and even graduating from high school allows one to lead a successful life as a professional. The equivalent of our elementary school level there is not about constantly forcing something on children but about making the process of group life at school and various humanities-based learning very enjoyable, guiding children with the concept of 'play.'"

President Yoon promised, "We will make our classrooms fun and enjoyable places. I and the government will do our best to change the educational environment so that teachers can teach comfortably and students can learn happily."

On this day, President Yoon exchanged New Year's greetings with on-site teachers and listened attentively to various stories from the education field. He also personally introduced and encouraged Lee Eun-seon, principal of Heungdeok Middle School, whose family of nine across three generations are teachers, and Lee Seung-o, a teacher at Cheongju Hyehwa School who formed a startup club with students with physical disabilities to give them dreams and courage.

Yeo Nan-sil, acting president of the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, said, "Last year, our education faced many difficulties, including educational conflicts within the educational community. More than 100,000 teachers took to the streets, calling for the restoration of teachers' authority and normalization of school education." She added, "That heartfelt appeal became a turning point that moved the government, political circles, and our society, laying the foundation for the normalization of public education and stability in classrooms through the amendment of the five laws protecting teachers' rights and the comprehensive plan for teachers' rights protection. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude."

The event gathered Acting President Yeo, about 180 on-site teachers, and representatives of education-related organizations and institutions. From the government, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho and Chairman of the National Education Commission Lee Bae-yong attended, while from the Presidential Office, Policy Chief Sung Tae-yoon and Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Jang Sang-yoon were present.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.