Students Boycott School for Enforced Religion
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Students of an elementary school in Gyeongju, south Gyeongsang Province are boycotting classes for a third day, with parents demanding the resignation of a teacher who allegedly forced students to become Christians.
They are demanding what they call the ``unqualified teacher’’ quit the school and said they will not send their children back until the school takes proper action against the teacher.
However, senior school officials say there is nothing they can do to settle the dispute.
According to the school, only 182 out of 1,418 students attended classes Tuesday.
Last month, some 750 parents sent a petition to the education authority of the city claiming the 59-year-old teacher is not qualified to teach.
In the petition, the parents claimed the teacher told students ``if you believe in God, you will go to Heaven, and if you believe in other religions such as Catholicism and Buddhism, you will fall into hell’’ during a class. Also, they claimed the female teacher often started classes after praying and reading the Bible.
The petition also said the teacher took her students to church on Sundays and scolded some students who didn’t attend. However, the teacher is denying the allegations. ``I used to encourage students to go to church but I didn’t force them to,’’ she said.
The education authorities are investigating the case. ``Not only religious problems caused this turmoil, the teacher also had trouble with other colleagues and sued,’’ a senior teacher of the school said, declining to elaborate further.