Tried to Collect Students' Phones... 7 Out of 10 Teachers Say They've Been Verbally Abused

According to Teachers' Union Survey
72.6% of Teachers Say "Conflicts with Students Increase Due to Mobile Phones"

More than 6 out of 10 teachers have experienced conflicts while guiding students on mobile phone use during class.

On the 30th, the Teachers' Labor Union Federation conducted a survey regarding mobile phone usage and violence, revealing that 61.3% of teachers reported conflicts with students over mobile phone use during class. The photo is an AI-generated image to aid understanding of the article.

On April 30, the Teachers' Labor Union Federation conducted a survey on mobile phone use and violence among 2,605 teachers from kindergartens, elementary, middle, high, and special schools between April 21 and 25. The results showed that 61.3% of respondents had experienced conflicts with students over mobile phone use during class.

Regarding conflicts between teachers and students related to mobile phone use, 72.9% of teachers responded that such conflicts are increasing. Additionally, 84.1% of teachers said that when schools do not collect mobile phones collectively and allow students to manage them autonomously, conflicts between teachers and students over mobile phones become more severe. Furthermore, 68.7% of teachers believed that when schools collect mobile phones collectively, students communicate more actively with their friends.

Regarding disciplinary guidance, 67.7% of teachers said they had been verbally abused by students. In addition, 76.8% reported feeling that they could be subjected to physical violence during the process of guiding students. When asked if they had actually experienced physical violence from students during guidance, 22.9% answered "yes."

Despite the increasing frequency of violations of teachers' rights, protective measures remain insufficient. As many as 89.3% of teachers responded that even when they were verbally abused or physically assaulted by students, appropriate measures to protect their rights were not taken.

The teachers' union stated, "The educational authorities should provide support in various ways so that schools can jointly respond to school violence."

Meanwhile, on April 10, in a high school classroom in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, a third-year high school student struck a teacher's face with a hand holding a mobile phone during class. It was reported that this incident occurred after the teacher pointed out the student's gaming on a mobile phone during class, leading to a scuffle.