Over 1,300 Applicants Apply for Teacher Rights Protection Officers in Gyeonggi Province

More than 1,300 applicants have applied for the "Teacher Rights Protection Officer" positions currently being recruited by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education to protect teachers from malicious complaints.

During his first press conference since taking office held on the morning of the 28th, Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education An Min-seok explained that a total of 1,390 people had applied as of 5:00 p.m. the previous day during the open recruitment period for non-full-time teacher rights protection officers, which ran from the 15th until today.

Looking at the breakdown of applicants, educators accounted for the largest share at 53% (735 people), followed by professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and police officers at 24% (328 people), and local residents at 23% (327 people).

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education initially planned to select 50 people, but considering that more people applied than expected, it is reviewing plans to expand the number of recruits to around 100.

The provincial office of education plans to designate 10 specialized education officials as full-time teacher rights protection officers and deploy them to full duties starting September 1.

The non-full-time officers selected through the open competition will form teams with the full-time officers and be dispatched to schools where teacher rights violations have occurred to provide one-stop support for affected teachers.

Superintendent An emphasized, "Seeing so many people apply, given this level of interest, enthusiasm, and support, teacher rights in Gyeonggi Province can be firmly re-established in just one year."

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education also plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the police next month to discuss initial response and handling procedures for malicious complaint cases.

Superintendent An further presented "Phone-Free," "RAS," and "Breaking Down Walls" as the main policy directions for Gyeonggi education on this day.

The "Phone-Free School" policy restricts the use of mobile phones unrelated to educational activities during school hours and transitions that time into learning, relationship-building, and student growth activities, serving as Superintendent An's first signed policy.

RAS stands for Reading, Arts, and Sports, referring to a culture and arts education policy centered on reading, arts and culture, and sports.

"Breaking Down Walls" is a cooperative project where the office of education and local governments break down boundaries to jointly secure budgets and mutually open facilities, providing students with wider learning environments.

He explained, "Phone-Free is the entrance to learning (environment), RAS is the content of learning (competency), and Breaking Down Walls is the foundation of learning (ecosystem), forming a logical structure that completes a major transformation in Gyeonggi education."

Superintendent An revealed that he is also reviewing a plan to develop a platform that allows students' growth processes to be seen at a glance through RAS education, which could be utilized for future university admissions.

In addition, the office plans to establish motivational support policies, such as selecting 100 "RAS-type humans (outstanding students)" and sending them on a tour of places like Silicon Valley in the United States.

Regarding the campaign promise of the "Seed Education Fund," which involves paying a fund reserve of 1 million won upon admission to the first year of middle school and returning it upon graduation from high school, he stated that difficulties are anticipated in securing the budget.

Superintendent An said, "It was designed as a joint policy pursued by Gyeonggi Province and the provincial office of education, but due to severe financial issues in the province, it is not easy to secure an appropriate level of budget. Even if tax revenues increase next year, the proportion of local allocation taxes is likely to decrease, so we must carefully review whether to proceed."

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.