Seoul students' right ordinance may be changed to protect teachers

Education Minister raised the issue that classrooms are collapsing as the rights of students have been prioritized and overemphasized while teachers' rights have not.

Teachers shed tears in front of Seo 2 Elementary School in Secho District, Seoul, on Friday where many have shown up to express their condolence to the teacher that died by suicide on Tuesday. The teacher’s death has raised the issue of the collapsed teachers’ rights. [NEWS1]

Changes may soon be made to Seoul's students' rights ordinance, the excessive protections of which have made it difficult for teachers to discipline students without facing extraneous pressure from parents, including legal charges.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho on Friday noted the increasing number of cases in which students have committed acts that critically disrupted class.

“Last year, schools had to review and handle over 3,000 cases of such violations against educational activities,” Lee said during a meeting with teachers at the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Association. “The violations are becoming more diverse, and the level of these violations is becoming more serious.”

“The classrooms are collapsing as the rights of students have been prioritized and overemphasized,” the minister added.

“Justified compliments and encouragement are considered discrimination against other students, which is banned under the students’ rights ordinance,” Lee said. “And because of the excessive privacy protection policy, teachers are finding it difficult to actively engage in student counseling, and sometimes teachers are being physically abused [by the students].”

However, the minister added that such changes would have to be reviewed jointly with education superintendents.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho during a meeting with teachers at the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations’ office in Seocho District in Seoul on Friday. [YONHAP]

The comment by the education minister came after the public, and especially teachers, expressed their rage over the death of a 23-year-old elementary school teacher.

The school teacher was found dead on school grounds on Tuesday.

A common speculation, backed by the Seoul Teachers’ Union, is that the teacher committed suicide due to harassment from the parents of a student involved in school violence.

According to one report made to the Seoul Teachers’ Union by a coworker, the teacher was struggling to cope with a violent student.

She also considered changing her phone number because she was receiving too many calls from the parents regarding fights between her students.

Another teacher, who was in charge of handling school violence at the same school, Seo 2 elementary school, said that many of the parents that file complaints regarding fights among students are in the legal profession.

Some parents would threaten teachers, saying, “Don’t you know who I am?”

Cho Hee-yeon, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s superintendent, shows respect to the teacher who died by suicide earlier this week at Seo 2 Elementary School in Seocho District, Seoul, on Friday. [YONHAP]

Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, was criticized for failing to protect teachers. He has held the position since 2014.

When Cho arrived at Seo 2 Elementary School, some of the teachers shouted “Protect the teachers!”

“Superintendent Cho promised that teachers will not be burdened by issues outside of their job description,” one elementary teacher said. “The main job of a teacher is teaching and guiding students. Work regarding school violence and such is done after class.

“He says the law will be fixed to deal with the reality, but his words seem just insincere.”

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]