School Has Started... Looking for Neulbom Temporary Teachers

Frontline Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education Still Posting Job Openings
Teacher Organizations Say "Administrative Tasks Ultimately Burden Teachers"

With the government's 'Neulbom School,' which supports care and education, opening its doors for the first time with the start of the March semester, it has been revealed that not all 2,250 contract teachers assigned as full-time Neulbom staff for the first semester were hired. Teachers' organizations have protested, saying that teachers may end up having to take on Neulbom School duties.

According to the education sector on the 5th, some metropolitan and provincial offices of education have not yet completed hiring contract teachers assigned to Neulbom Schools in their regions and are still posting job openings. In Gangwon Province, as of the day before schools opened, 4 out of 84 elementary schools operating Neulbom Schools were unable to find contract teachers, and in Jeju, 10 out of 55 schools were still seeking contract teachers.

In Jeollanam-do, where all elementary schools operate Neulbom Schools, some contract teachers have not been hired yet, and recruitment is ongoing. A provincial education office official explained, "As of the 26th of last month, about 75% of the hiring was completed," adding, "It would be ideal to have all positions filled, but since there are existing resources that have been running after-school programs, we believe it is possible to operate sufficiently even if contract teachers are not fully supported."

With contract teacher hiring not yet completed, teachers' organizations are protesting the possibility that teachers may have to take on additional duties. Previously, the government stated that there would be no administrative burden on teachers related to Neulbom Schools and planned to use contract teachers only for this first semester, the initial implementation period, and to separately hire 'Neulbom administrative staff' later. The Seoul Teachers' Union released an analysis of Neulbom School operations at 24 schools they surveyed, stating, "In more than six schools, all instructors were not hired, so first-grade homeroom teachers, principals, and vice principals were invited as instructors," and pointed out, "Contrary to the Ministry of Education's promise not to impose administrative tasks on teachers, department heads or vice principals sometimes performed administrative duties."

In response, a Ministry of Education official said, "In cases where it is difficult to assign contract teachers depending on regional circumstances, we have requested that short-term administrative personnel be deployed first," adding, "Since at least one dedicated administrative staff member is assigned to each school, teachers' workloads will not increase."