Korean Federation of Teachers Expresses Unconditional Support

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

The nation's largest group of teachers has made official its support for the introduction of the controversial teacher evaluation system, providing fresh leverage for the government to introduce it next year.

The conservative Korean Federation of Teachers Associations said Wednesday that about 400 senior members reached an agreement at a policy meeting Monday that the federation will accept the evaluation scheme.

"Yes, it's our official position that we will accept it without conditions attached," a spokesman for the federation said. "We've agreed to the system aimed at strengthening teachers' professionalism."

The federation had previously been cautious, attaching conditions such as the establishment of measures for fair evaluation. It has about 180,000 members.

Lee Won-hee, president of the federation representing 45 percent of licensed teachers in Korea, said the association would "unconditionally" accept the idea of introducing the system.

"Teachers have become a target of public criticism since we opposed the introduction of the program. If it's apparently helpful in upgrading teachers' capabilities, we have no reason to oppose it," Lee said in an interview with a local daily.

He said it"okay" for the authorities to determine the wages and promotions of teachers based on the results of evaluations.

He urged the 60,000-strong progressive Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) to follow suit.

Representing 15 percent of teachers, the union has claimed there is a high possibility that the system could be abused by senior educators to punish teachers challenging the government's education policies.

"The government has not made objective criteria for the evaluation. It's to kick progressive teachers off campus," said KTU spokesman Eum Min-yong.

The tug-of-war between the government and teachers union over the issue began in 2000 when the government began to consider evaluation schemes rewarding competitive teachers and purging incompetent ones.

The ministry conducted a pilot test at 48 schools in 2005, and increased the number to 1,570 this year.

Education Minister Ahn Byong-man has said the system will be implemented next year regardless of the passage of related bills at the National Assembly.

Under the evaluation plan, it is said that teachers ranked in the bottom 0.1 percent will participate in a special training program. Anyone included in the "poor" group for three consecutive years will be fired, while those who rank in the top 0.1 percent will receive the incentive of taking a year off to study and perform research.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr