School Recess to Be More Flexible
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Primary and secondary schools will have more short-term breaks. The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development told The Korea Times Monday it will encourage schools to diversify recess periods.
For example, schools located near industrial complexes are able to take days off coinciding with holidays of factories in the region. Schools in farming and fishing areas can have short-term recesses when parents are short handed.
Although schools have more flexibility for holidays, those in the same district are advised to have days off on the same day so that parents can take care of children who attend different schools.
The ministry also expects that it can encourage family trips by diversifying school breaks. According to the Primary and Secondary School Law, schools are able to designate holidays within 10 percent of the number of school days.
As five working days are common today, people can have consecutive four-day holidays in March, May, July and December if one day is added.
``I think it is inefficient for employees to work on a day between holidays as well as students. If school is off, my family will go on vacation,’’ 39-year-old Kim In-sik said.
However, not all parents welcome special holidays for their children. In particular, working couples, who have difficulties in coping with additional school breaks. ``We have no places to take care of our children. School holidays are always a burden to us. I hope schools can provide programs for children whose parents are working,’’ said Choi Sung-mi, a 37-old-year female office worker.
School policy education researcher Cho Seon-jin noted that the education ministry needs to cooperate with other ministries to realize school’s autonomy in recess periods, as well as address social antipathy against school breaks.
``Many people think schools are irresponsible in taking care of students if they have a special break,’’ Cho said.
Currently, primary and secondary schools across the country have second and fourth Saturdays off and aim to expand to five-day workweek condition at schools. The Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations has called for five-day working days from this year and the Korean Teachers & Education Workers’ Union as well by 2008.