Education Superintendent Lee Jae-jung: "Resolving Overlarge Universities and Overcrowded Classes Is the Most Urgent Issue"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-jung, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, stated that "resolving oversized schools and overcrowded classes is the most critical task in current education policy."

On the 29th, Superintendent Lee attended the "Policy Forum for Reducing the Number of Students per Class and Finding Solutions to Oversized and Overcrowded Classes" held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, and said, "The most urgent and important task for the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education lies in resolving oversized schools and overcrowded classes," adding, "I hope today's forum will serve as a starting point to solve these issues."

He continued, "Although today's forum focuses on the issues of oversized schools and overcrowded classes, we must also deeply consider the problems of regions and schools where student numbers are decreasing and continue discussions going forward," and added, "The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education will research the educational interpretation and effects of reducing the number of students per class to 20."

The forum was organized to seek effective solutions to oversized and overcrowded classes amid the increased need for social distancing within schools due to full in-person attendance in the second semester and the rise of oversized and overcrowded classes centered around new towns.

Participants in the forum included Superintendent Lee Jae-jung, National Assembly members Ahn Min-seok and Kang Min-jung, former Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) Chairperson Jeon Hee-young, and officials from the Ministry of Education.

The main discussion topics of the forum were ▲ current status of oversized and overcrowded classes ▲ major cases related to oversized and overcrowded classes (Gyeonggi Province) ▲ problems caused by oversized and overcrowded classes ▲ need to improve the application standards for oversized and overcrowded classes ▲ and mid- to long-term measures to expand the number of teachers.