A Letter of Appreciation Sent to the Provincial Assembly, Parents’ Association, and Teachers’ Organizations
Kim Daejung, Superintendent of Jeonnam Office of Education, sent a letter of appreciation on the 10th to the Provincial Assembly, the Parents’ Association, teachers’ organizations, and other members of the educational community who actively cooperated in overcoming the serious crisis faced by Jeonnam’s education sector due to the government's policy of reducing the number of teachers.
Kim Daejung, former Superintendent of Education of Jeonnam.
According to the Jeonnam Office of Education, the drastic decline in the school-age population in the Jeonnam region has made the Ministry of Education’s large-scale reduction of teacher positions a particularly serious issue. Due to the region’s many small schools, reducing the number of teachers was seen as tantamount to abandoning education, creating a major crisis. In particular, the number of subject teachers assigned to middle schools with three classes was reduced to six, making it difficult not only to provide basic subject education but also to operate specialized educational activities and student life guidance.
To address this situation, the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly adopted a resolution urging opposition to the reduction of teacher positions in Jeonnam, and the Parents’ Association Federation launched a signature campaign against the reduction. Teachers’ organizations responded actively by collaborating with related agencies to demand alternatives to the reduction policy. The educational community made various efforts to urge changes in government policy, embodying the spirit of "Dongjugongje (in the same boat, helping each other)" and "Dongshimmanri (with one heart, going a thousand miles)."
As a result, the Ministry of Education approved an increase in the number of newly appointed secondary school teachers and temporary teachers outside the regular quota, thereby improving students’ educational conditions and ensuring their right to learn. The Jeonnam Office of Education promoted the "Jeonnam-type Basic Quota System" to smoothly support the operation of curricula in small schools, which had been adversely affected by the large-scale reduction of teacher positions, and to guarantee the learning rights of students in small classes.
This system is a staffing allocation model that assigns a minimum number of regular teachers to small schools, including those in island regions, and is a measure to help normalize education in areas where it is difficult to appoint temporary teachers. This system, preemptively implemented in Jeonnam, is expected to serve as an impetus for the government to introduce a basic quota system for small schools nationwide through the Council of Provincial and Metropolitan Superintendents of Education.
In his letter, Superintendent Kim stated, "Overcoming the crisis in Jeonnam’s education is only possible when the Office of Education and the educational community join forces," and added, "I deeply appreciate the active cooperation of the Provincial Assembly, the Parents’ Association, and teachers’ organizations, and I will continue to do my utmost for the development of Jeonnam’s education together with all members of the educational community."
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