By Yun Suh-young
A provincial education authority said Friday that it will maintain the number of foreign English teachers it employs at the current level of about 820 next year.
The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education (GPOE) said there will be no cuts in jobs for foreign teachers at elementary, middle and high schools over the next couple of years.
The announcement came several days after the Gyeonggi Provincial Council (GPC) passed a supplementary budget bill that excluded the 15.6 billion won needed to pay for the foreign English teachers currently working in public schools.
“The council’s budget cut will not affect the plans for hiring English teachers next year,” said an official from the GPOE who declined to be named. “We’ve decided not to reduce the number below 819. This is the minimum required to continue our English education. We will make sure that the necessary budget is secured.”
The council’s budget cut drew criticism from the GPOE which claims it had to include the request in the supplementary submission as the council had previously rejected it.
However, council members disagreed.
“We gave them everything they requested in the main budget and now they’re asking for more without properly explaining why they need it,” said an official from the council. “They didn’t give us specific reasons for needing the money. We can’t give out extra money without getting specific and detailed explanations of how it will be used.”
Council officials said hiring foreign teachers was quite costly.
“There is a long-term plan to reduce the number of foreign English teachers,” said Shin Jong-cheol, a member of the GPC. “In the past when English was difficult to learn, the role of foreign teachers was important. However, now students can interact with foreign teachers overseas through video, so their role here has significantly decreased.”
“Just having one foreign teacher per school doesn’t really have much of an effect,” he said, explaining the need for the reduction. “The GPOE knows this as well and this is a matter that has been agreed upon.”
It costs about 3.84 million won a month per foreign English teacher. This includes salary, housing, pension and insurance contributions, and flight costs.
“On average, their monthly income is 2.3 million won and the housing fees range from 500,000 to 800,000 won. This is about 3 million won on average. Of course the flight costs and other fees need to be added. If we only look at the monthly income, we pay more to Korean teachers, but overall, foreign teachers cost a lot more,” an official from the GPOE said.
With the unexpected budget cut, many foreign English teachers face losing their jobs. Although those contracting next year will secure work, those whose contracts are to expire within the next few months may have to wait longer to renew their contracts or find another job.
“Those whose contract expires within the next few months will have to wait until next year to renew them if they wish to continue working. If not, schools will have to hire new teachers next year,” said the official from the GPOE.
“Between the gap from now to December, schools will have to do without foreign English teachers because we cannot afford to pay them due to the budget cut.”
The number of foreign English teachers in Gyeonggi Province who are employed by the GPOE steadily increased from 454 in 2008 to 1,119 in 2010. However, the number fell to 819 this year.
