By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter

From kindergarten to high schools, all public education facilities in Seoul will be better protected with ``school guards'' and closed-circuit televisions (CCTV).

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced the plan to hire school guards for the coming new semester and expand the installment of surveillance cameras to all 1,220 schools in the city.

School guards are mainly retired teachers, discharged military personnel and former police officers. They prevent school crimes and help students come and leave the institution safely.

The education office already deployed guards at elementary and middle schools last year and guards will be stationed at 308 high schools before the start of spring semester.

The office also will complete the CCTV installments in schools this year.

Schools, which have not installed the surveillance system yet, have not reached a consensus on privacy issues among the school members. The education office only sets up CCTVs around the school when at least half of all students, parents and instructors agree to the installation.

``We expect the aversion toward CCTV to decrease since it played an important role in catching a serial killer,'' an educational official said.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr