Teaser for 3,060 teacher cuts. Teachers' association protests, ”Classes remain overcrowded” = South Korea

A proposal to reduce the number of teachers at elementary, middle and high schools has been teased as a legislative measure, drawing growing opposition from the education industry. According to the Korean education industry on the 6th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety recently announced that it would reduce the number of teachers at public schools.
The government has enacted a law to revise the "Provisions for Partial Revision of the Provisions Concerning the Quota of National Civil Servants in Local Educational Administrative Organizations and Schools of Each Level." If this revision is enacted, the quota for elementary school teachers will be increased by 242,000 this year.
The total number of teachers at elementary, junior and senior high schools will be reduced by 4,867, but excluding the temporary increase in teachers (1,807) for basic academic support, the net reduction will be 306.
The reason why the South Korean government is cutting public teachers is due to the decline in the school-age population.
According to the report, the number of elementary, junior high and high school students, which is about 5.02 million this year, is projected to decrease to 4.84 million in 2026 and 3.83 million in 2031.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety cited "a decrease in the school-age population in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools" as the reason for proposing the amendment.
The current number of students per teacher in South Korea is 15.8 in elementary schools and 11.7 in middle and high schools as of 2022.
Compared to the 2020 OECD average (14.4 students per elementary school, 13.6 students per junior high and high school), the number is 1.4 students more in elementary schools and 1.9 students less in junior high and high schools.
With the reduction in the number of teachers, it is likely that the number of new hires will also be reduced.
The number of teachers to be cut is about 4,000, which is a small amount, but it is not unrelated to the number of new hires. The education sector has suggested that the calculation standard for teacher quotas should be based on the number of students per teacher.
According to the 2024 Annual Report on Education Statistics, there are 70,645 classes with 26 or more students per class.
The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations said, "The calculation standard for teacher quotas should be set at 20 students per class, not the number of students per teacher.
"The number of teachers should be increased so that overcrowded classes do not occur," he said. "By reducing the number of students per class to 20 or less, we can respond to the introduction of the high school grade point system and AI textbooks,
"We can improve the quality of education," he said. Experts point out that the pace of teacher cuts needs to be adjusted to maintain small schools in farming and fishing villages.
Professor Lee Gil-jae of the Department of Education at Chungbuk National University said, "The government's policy of reducing teacher quotas in line with the declining number of students is correct, but it is necessary to maintain a minimum number of teachers in small schools in farming and fishing villages.
"The pace and scale of cuts should be adjusted taking into account the need to maintain the budget and the growing demand for AI education."