"Away With Paperwork"... Jeonnam Office of Education Goes All Out to Ease Teachers' New Semester Workload

All Schools in the Province Enter "Intensive Preparation Period"
Reducing Teachers' Administrative Burden, Expanding Meetings and Communication

The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education has rolled up its sleeves ahead of the new semester to ease the excessive workload at schools and help ensure a stable start to educational activities.

The provincial office announced on the 23rd that from the second to the fourth week of this month, it will operate a "New School Year Intensive Preparation Period" for kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, as well as special schools and various other types of schools in the province.

Exterior view of Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

The period right before and after the start of a semester is typically when a wide range of urgent tasks overlap simultaneously, from preparing to operate the curriculum and setting up classroom environments to student guidance and safety inspections, causing teachers' workloads at the front line to surge. In response, the provincial office plans to provide systematic support to proactively resolve challenges in the field and enable teachers to focus solely on student education.

During this preparation period, each school will place priority on key areas such as providing time for meetings and communication within the educational community, establishing curricula and preparing work, supporting student adjustment and daily life at school, and creating a safe school environment.

Support from the main office of the provincial education authority, centered on the field, will also be significantly strengthened. The main office will distribute relevant manual materials to schools to minimize confusion in work processes, while focusing on informing schools about policies to reduce administrative duties and normalize workloads, and on building a response system for safety inspections at the beginning of the semester, in order to create a safe educational environment.

Kim Byeongnam, Director of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, stressed, "A stable start to the new semester is the most important starting point that determines the quality of educational activities throughout the year," adding, "We will continue to strengthen field-centered support so that schools can concentrate entirely on educational activities."

Through the operation of this intensive preparation period, the provincial office plans to help students smoothly adapt to school life, enhance teachers' focus on teaching, and establish a truly student-centered educational culture.