▲ Ministry of Education
School principals will now have the legal authority to take measures such as ordering evictions and restricting access for individuals who visit schools and pose a high risk of infringing on teachers' educational activities.
The Ministry of Education announced that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was deliberated and resolved at a Cabinet meeting on October 20.
The amended enforcement decree outlines the procedures for school principals to handle malicious complainants.
Regarding school complaints that risk infringing on educational activities, principals must notify the person who raised the complaint and request them to halt the behavior.
If the complainant fails to comply, principals can take necessary actions, including terminating phone calls or interviews, ordering eviction or temporary access restrictions, and reporting the individual to investigative agencies.
Previously, it had been pointed out as a major issue that some parents and others filed malicious complaints to the extent of infringing on teaching rights and disrupting students' classes.
The Ministry of Education stated that it expects the revision of the enforcement decree to help establish an institutionalized school-level complaint response system in the field.
However, it remains to be seen how effective the revision of the enforcement decree will be in situations where principals are concerned about potential additional complaints from parents.
The enforcement decree also includes a provision stating that the Minister of Education and superintendents of education will establish and implement annual support policies for student guardians starting next year.
The amended enforcement decree will take effect starting October 29.
Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin stated, "With this revision of the enforcement decree, we have laid an institutional foundation that supports parents in building their capacity for child education and school cooperation, while enabling teachers to fully concentrate on their educational activities."
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