Seoul Superintendent of Education's 10th Anniversary Press Conference
Focus on Eliminating Educational Inequality During Term
"Community-Type Schools to Continue Sustainable Education"
Preschool Integration "Budget and Personnel Must Be Fully Transferred"
Jo Hee-yeon, the first three-term Superintendent of Education of Seoul, held a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of his inauguration. He emphasized the achievements of bold innovations over the past decade, including the conversion of autonomous private high schools to general high schools and the establishment of special classes, highlighting sustainable innovation.
On this day, Superintendent Jo expressed concerns about the 'Yubo Integration' pilot program to be introduced by the Ministry of Education at the end of this year, stating, "If the budget, personnel, and space are not perfectly transferred to the education office, fierce conflicts between the education office and daycare centers will arise from next year."
10th Anniversary of Inauguration... Promotion of Free School Meals and Special Schools
Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, is holding a press conference on the 10th anniversary of his inauguration at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
On the 2nd, Superintendent Jo held a press conference at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, explaining, "The innovative education over the past 10 years was a process of normalizing primary and secondary education in terms of systems and culture." In his first year as superintendent in 2014, he implemented the 'Classroom Revolution Project,' which reorganized the curriculum to be student-centered. Notably, to resolve the issue of high school ranking, he gained recognition by attempting to convert autonomous private high schools into general high schools through the 'Era of General High Schools' plan.
Superintendent Jo emphasized that his term focused on eliminating educational inequality. He expanded free school meals from elementary and middle schools in 2014 to kindergartens by 2022. Additionally, to provide educational opportunities for special needs students, he established Seoul Narae School, a public special school, in 2019, and Seoul Seojin School in 2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic, to address the decline in basic academic skills, he explained that Seoul developed and introduced the nation's first 'Seoul Student Literacy and Numeracy Diagnostic Test.' The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education introduced the diagnostic test last year in 210 elementary, middle, and high schools (about 45,000 students) and plans to conduct it in 500 schools (about 100,000 students) this year.
Regarding the decline in teacher authority highlighted after the 'Seoi Elementary School Incident' last year, comprehensive measures to protect teachers' educational activities were established, supporting educational activities, conflict resolution, and healing. Customized support measures for teachers, such as the Emergency Support Team for Educational Activity Protection (SEM119) and teacher liability insurance, were also introduced during his term.
Superintendent Jo emphasizes sustainable education. To this end, ecological transition education has been strengthened in school curricula, and experiential resource circulation education practice schools and carbon-zero practice leading schools have been designated. Furthermore, anticipating the declining school-age population, he is promoting the 'urban campus' project, where schools coexist with public housing and office facilities in urban areas.
He pledged to continue pursuing educational innovation during his remaining term. In particular, he promised to support the entire process of curriculum, instruction, and evaluation to enhance learners' critical and creative thinking skills. To this end, he operates an 'IB (International Baccalaureate) exploratory school' and explained plans to support the 'Seoul Integrated Online School' for the operation of the high school credit system to be implemented from next year. He also stated his commitment to improving nationwide literacy through the reading campaign 'Book Wave,' which started this year.
To achieve sustainable innovative education, he emphasized building 'community-type schools.' Superintendent Jo said, "The Seoi Elementary School Incident should not end merely with healing the wounds," adding, "We will actively support schools to form a community-type school culture based on the three respects: students' respect for teachers, teachers' respect for students, and parents' cooperation with school education." He also promised to establish a 'student-customized integrated support system' this year to provide tailored integrated support for students facing complex difficulties. On this day, he proposed discussions on the '2033 College Entrance System,' emphasizing the need to change the current multiple-choice evaluation method of the College Scholastic Ability Test to a written and essay format."
This month, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will hold a four-part forum titled 'Reflection on 10 Years, Leaping into the Future' to evaluate the achievements and shortcomings of policies pursued over the past decade. The forum will include discussions and dialogues with over 20 teachers, students, and academic experts. Additionally, at the press conference, a white paper titled 'A Little More, Newly, Together,' documenting 10 years of Seoul education, was unveiled.
Yubo Integration "If Personnel and Budget Are Not 100% Transferred, There Will Be Disruptions"
After the press conference, Superintendent Jo expressed regrets during the Q&A session regarding the Ministry of Education's upcoming implementation of the Yubo Integration (integration of kindergartens and daycare centers) policy next year. Once the integration of kindergartens and daycare centers is promoted and related legal amendments are completed, the duties of infant care will be transferred to the education office by the second half of this year. Regarding this, Superintendent Jo pointed out, "I believe that not only the budget but also personnel and space must be completely transferred to the education office," adding, "In Seoul, there are 400 support personnel managing daycare centers under the Seoul Metropolitan Government and 25 district offices. To transfer them to regional education offices, which currently handle up to 100 personnel units, three or more additional education support offices would need to be created." He said, "If the 100% budget and personnel support previously received by daycare centers are not transferred, there will be disruptions in support."
He also cited the failure to complete the 'special class establishment' plan as the most regrettable aspect of the implementation policy. He said, "Dongjin School was established in 2027 and Seojin School in 2029, but the remaining eight autonomous districts do not have special schools," adding, "The plan was completed, but it is regrettable that it has not been scheduled." He further expressed hope to create successful models to support 'minority students,' such as multicultural students.
Regarding concerns about the introduction of digital technology education, such as Edutech, he said, "We should accept the positive aspects and supplement the negative ones," adding, "At this early stage, it will likely be standardized customized support. We must proceed with caution and make improvements as we advance."
Superintendent Jo is currently awaiting the final Supreme Court verdict after being indicted on charges of unfair special recruitment of dismissed teachers. Regarding this, he said, "I am praying," and argued, "In fact, the scope of abuse of authority charges was indiscriminately expanded during the past impeachment phase." He added, "Recently, the Supreme Court has tended to apply abuse of authority charges more strictly. Personally, I claim it was proactive administration, but we will have to see whether it will be accepted."
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