Even Former Secondary School Teachers Should Be Allowed to Serve as Principals of Seonhye School
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education manages three public special schools: Naju Ihwa School, Suncheon Seonhye School, and Yeosu Yeomyeong School, which are responsible for special education.
These three special schools provide 12 years of elementary, middle, and high school education, and if students advance to the 2-year vocational training course called the Major Course, they attend for a total of 14 years.
The purpose of these special schools is not simply to graduate students.
Special education institutions face difficult and diverse challenges, as they must provide vocational education to students with disabilities so they can start as members of society, as well as discover employment opportunities.
There is controversy as only principals with an elementary school background have been repeatedly appointed at Suncheon Seonhye School, which is responsible for such special education.
Unlike Naju Ihwa School and Yeosu Yeomyeong School, where principals alternate between elementary and middle/high school backgrounds, Suncheon Seonhye School has only appointed principals with elementary school backgrounds.
A parent of a student at Suncheon Seonhye School, Mr. A, said, “In a way, the 8 years of middle school and Major Course are more important than the 6 years of elementary education,” and criticized the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education’s personnel decisions, saying, “Vocational education and employment discovery, which are crucial for starting as a member of society, have many issues to resolve, so appointing only principals with elementary school backgrounds is incomprehensible.”
A representative from the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education stated, “Principals of special schools must have special education qualifications,” and added, “General middle and high school teachers do not wish to work at special schools,” and “There is no one with special education qualifications.”
Regarding the appointment of the principal at Suncheon Seonhye School, the representative said, “It is the result of various factors combined and not intentional,” and added, “To compensate for this issue, the vice principal was assigned from the middle school sector.”
In response to criticism that vocational education courses like the Major Course and employment discovery might be neglected, the representative said, “This is a point that can be raised as an issue,” and “We will consider it in future personnel decisions.”
The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education divides personnel appointments between elementary and secondary education.
In other words, the positions of elementary school principal and secondary school principal are separated, so if a secondary school principal is appointed as the principal of Suncheon Seonhye School, it means that one elementary school principal position disappears, which can be interpreted as a competition for principal positions, leading to controversy.
Mr. A said about Suncheon Seonhye School, “It is openly known that middle school teachers cannot be appointed as principals,” and added, “Currently, middle and high school teachers working at Seonhye School have special education qualifications,” expressing that the response from the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education is incomprehensible.
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