Ministry of Education Expands Student Category to Include All School Members
Each Education Office Has Already Submitted Revised Ordinance Proposals
Criticism Arises Over Omission of Student Rights Protection Content
The Ministry of Education has distributed a revised draft example of the 'Student Human Rights Ordinance,' which has been controversial since the infringement of teachers' rights incident, to the education offices. Unlike the current student human rights ordinances of various education offices such as Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, the draft specifies the rights and responsibilities of educational stakeholders including superintendents, principals, students, teachers, and guardians, and concretizes the methods for handling complaints and conflicts. However, since each city and provincial education office has already prepared its own revision draft and the scope has broadened compared to the existing ordinance centered on students, it is uncertain whether it will actually be reflected in the ordinance.
On the 29th, the Ministry of Education guided the 'Ordinance Example on the Rights and Responsibilities of School Members' to education offices nationwide. The Ministry explained, "The ordinance example prepared this time stipulates the duties of superintendents and principals to foster a mutually respectful school culture, balances the rights and responsibilities of the three educational stakeholders, and includes procedures for handling and mediating complaints and conflicts among school members."
Currently, some city and provincial education offices are in the process of revising the student human rights ordinance. In Seoul and Gyeonggi Provincial Offices of Education, revision drafts have already been submitted to add provisions on 'students' responsibilities and duties' to the existing ordinance. The Ministry of Education explained that this example draft was prepared so that each education office could refer to it and reflect it in their revisions. Therefore, it is expected that the adoption of the revision draft will be discussed at the city and provincial council levels.
The current student human rights ordinances have been established in the Gyeonggi-do, Gwangju, Seoul, Jeonbuk, Chungnam, and Jeju education offices. Although there are differences in details, they generally specify rights centered on student human rights such as non-discrimination, violence, education, privacy, conscience, and religion. They also regulate response methods such as investigating and handling cases of student human rights violations.
However, the student human rights ordinance example proposed by the Ministry of Education this time differs significantly from the existing ordinances in a broad sense. The biggest difference is that, unlike the current ordinances focused on 'student rights,' the scope has been expanded to 'school members.' The Ministry established the duties of superintendents and principals and the rights and responsibilities of the three educational stakeholders (students, teachers, guardians) as school members with the aim of fostering a mutually respectful school culture.
Additionally, the Ministry's example draft specifies the duties and rights of each member and includes ways to prevent conflicts among school members. It also includes complaint handling procedures, responses to infringements on educational activities, and mediation of conflicts, covering methods for handling complaints and conflicts.
However, there are criticisms that the expansion of the scope has made the regulations on students' rights and responsibilities ambiguous. This is because contents related to students' universal human rights such as privacy, right to rest, sexual minorities, and religion, which were specified in the existing student human rights ordinances, have been omitted. Regarding this, the Ministry of Education stated, "Many existing student human rights ordinances regulate universal human rights that are not directly related to school life. Also, there was criticism that only students' rights were emphasized and responsibilities were not, which could lead to neglecting responsibilities."
Education offices also explained that there are differences between the Ministry's example draft and the existing student human rights ordinances. A Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education official said, "What the Ministry proposed as an example draft corresponds to a basic ordinance. It seems that it will be discussed separately from the revision draft submitted by the education office during the Seoul City Council's deliberation process." A Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education official also said, "The Ministry's example draft is a community (related to school members) ordinance. Opinions vary, including views that it is a revision of the existing human rights ordinance or a completely different ordinance, so internal review seems necessary."
The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations stated in a press release on the same day, "We agree with the intention to improve the student human rights ordinance, which caused the decline of teachers' rights by excessively emphasizing student rights," but added, "Since most of the contents of the example draft are matters already specified in higher laws, rather than regulating them again in the ordinance, it is necessary to consider focusing on improving the student human rights ordinance like the 'New York City Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.'"
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