Current Teachers Reveal Cases of Teacher Rights Violations
"No Parental Consent, Issues Left Unresolved"
On the 4th, which was the 49th-day memorial for a teacher from Seoi Elementary School and a 'Day of Public Education Halt,' active teachers gathered from all over the country to commemorate and publicly shared cases of infringements on their teaching rights.
In the Busan area, a rally was held inside the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education. About 1,500 teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools in the Busan region united in calling for the normalization of public education. At the rally held under the phrase "From Sorrow to Change!", teachers took turns going up to the podium to report cases of infringements on their teaching rights.
On the 49th day memorial of the late Seo-i Elementary School teacher on the 4th, a student at Seo-i Elementary School in Seoul is attaching a note with a condolence message to a memorial banner. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@
Teacher A said, "In 2014, I was a homeroom teacher for a first-year high school student, and I unknowingly drank from my tumbler twice after a student had urinated in it."
He continued, "I requested a police investigation, but since the student was under 16 years old, parental consent was required, which was not obtained, so we could not collect a urine sample. In the end, the matter was quietly dropped."
Still, he said, "I was luckier than the teacher from Seocho District." Feeling betrayed and despairing at a teaching environment that does not protect teachers, A shouted, "The superintendent and others must prepare measures to protect teachers."
Other teachers who heard A's story shed tears, and some even sobbed.
Participants are observing a moment of silence at a candlelight vigil held on the afternoon of the 4th at Seoul National University of Education in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 49th-day memorial of a teacher from Seoi Elementary School in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
On that day, teachers conducted a 'circumvention strike' by taking sick leave or annual leave and not coming to work.
Earlier, the Ministry of Education warned that those who did not work that day could face severe disciplinary actions, including dismissal. Citing that the Day of Public Education Halt was a collective action by teachers infringing on students' right to learn, the Ministry stated that school principals who enforced temporary closures and teachers who used annual or sick leave without special reasons could face dismissal or termination and even criminal charges. Accordingly, friction between teachers who did not come to work that day and the Ministry of Education was anticipated.
Voices criticizing the Ministry of Education's pressure response emerged. The Teachers' Labor Union Federation said, "The Ministry of Education should have expressed 'empathy and consolation' for the restoration of public education, not 'discipline' for the halt of public education."
Furthermore, as it became known that three teachers from Gyeonggi and Jeonbuk had died ahead of the 49th-day memorial, and calls for the restoration of teaching rights grew louder, on the 5th, the Ministry of Education reversed its stance, stating that it would not discipline teachers who took sick or annual leave and attended the 9/4 rally.
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