"Together with the Local Community, Creating Safe Schools"
Third Pledge Outlined with Three Detailed Policy Goals
"I will devote my efforts to restoring the educational community and creating safe schools."
Cha Jeong-in, a preliminary candidate for the Busan Superintendent of Education by-election and former president of Busan National University, announced his third campaign pledge on the 20th since entering the election race: "Restoring the educational community with the local society and creating safe schools."
Before announcing his pledge, Candidate Cha expressed deep shock and sorrow upon hearing about the death of an elementary school student in Daejeon, offering condolences to the victim and their family. He then referred to a survey on perceptions of high schools conducted among university students from four countries?Korea, the United States, China, and Japan?pointing out that "Korean high schools are perceived as battlegrounds for entrance exam competition, and students do not see each other as a trusting and cooperative community, which is a serious problem."
According to the survey, 80.8% of Korean university students described their high schools as "battlefields," a figure significantly higher than China (41.8%), the United States (40.4%), and Japan (13.8%). Conversely, only 12.8% of Korean students responded that their high schools were "places of collaboration," which is markedly lower than Japan (75.7%), China (46.6%), and the United States (33.8%).
To address these issues, Candidate Cha emphasized that he would pursue policies focused on two core directions: "restoring the educational community" and "creating safe schools."
For "restoring the educational community with the local society," he announced plans to institutionalize regular communication between the superintendent and educational stakeholders, promote student representation in school operation committees, operate a parent cooperation center, and run the "Busan Education Great Transformation Citizens' Council." Candidate Cha stressed, "Education is created together by students, parents, teachers, and the education office," adding, "I will foster a democratic educational environment based on communication and cooperation."
Additionally, to "create safe schools," he proposed conducting safety inspections and improvements on school routes, expanding CCTV coverage, assigning school police officers to elementary schools, and strengthening school violence prevention and restorative life education. He expressed his intention to systematically organize prevention and response systems as school violence and on-campus safety issues become increasingly serious.
Candidate Cha stated, "I will implement policies involving school members and citizens together for a great transformation of Busan education."
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