It has been revealed that counseling and treatment sessions conducted for teachers exceed 20,000 cases annually, yet the number of counseling personnel is woefully insufficient.
According to data received on the 23rd by Kang Deuk-gu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Ministry of Education and 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide, there are a total of 29 counselors employed at teacher healing centers and teacher rights protection support centers under the jurisdiction of the education offices across the country.
Gyeonggi-do had the highest number with 7 counselors, followed by Gyeongnam with 3, and Gwangju, Daegu, Sejong, and Jeonbuk each had 2 counselors. Seoul, Busan, Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, Daejeon, Ulsan, Incheon, Jeonnam, Jeju, Chungnam, and Chungbuk each had 1 counselor.
Despite the shortage of personnel, the number of teacher counseling and psychological treatment sessions conducted at the centers is rapidly increasing. Counseling cases rose from 7,936 in 2020 to 13,621 in 2021, and 19,799 last year. Psychological treatments increased from 1,498 in 2020 to 1,791 in 2021, and 2,165 in 2022. This means a total of 21,964 counseling and psychological treatment sessions were conducted last year alone.
As it has recently become known that some teachers have made extreme choices, the number of teachers reporting feelings of depression is increasing, making it highly likely that the number of counseling and psychological treatment sessions will further increase this year.
Accordingly, since counselors are limited, there are calls for practical measures such as support for facilities and personnel to be implemented simultaneously. Kang Deuk-gu stated, "Personnel and budget allocations must be made in accordance with the annual increase in teacher psychological treatments," and added, "The Teacher Healing Support Centers must be operated effectively to fulfill their roles."
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