Foreign Schools Face Tougher Rule in Hiring Teachers
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Foreign schools in Seoul are to come under stricter supervision in their recruitment of teachers and be required to report every appointment to the Seoul education office.
The tougher supervision is expected to influence other regional education offices overseeing foreign schools.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) said it would require foreign schools in the city to submit documents whenever they hire or fire teachers.
``The schools have been given discretion in hiring teachers and were exempt from submitting any related information until now. But we are going to monitor them to verify if they employ qualified teachers or not,'' said O Nam-bum, a SMOE official.
Separately, the Ministry of Justice said it will consider tightening regulations on the issuance of E-7 visas, which allow foreigners to work at foreign schools without teaching certificates.
The move came after The Korea Times reported Monday that 18 percent of foreign school teachers here have no teaching licenses.
However, some international schools were found to have underreported the number of unlicensed teachers they have on their books. They are under no obligations to hire only licensed teachers.
``The Korean government should understand some teachers without licenses can teach at schools in the United States. We were afraid it would be problematic if we disclosed the number of teachers without credentials as many Koreans don't understand different education systems overseas,'' said an administrator at an international school, who refused to be named.
A director at another foreign school in Seoul claimed that he didn't report the number of assistant teachers because they are allowed to teach at schools without teaching licenses.
``Usually, assistant teachers are Koreans and mothers who followed their husbands here,'' he said. When asked whether the foreign mothers obtained proper teaching visas, the director declined to reply.
Korean teachers groups have been calling for ``no exceptions'' in the application of education law that requires all teachers to hold licenses.
``Graduates from foreign schools can now apply to Korean universities without any restrictions. As such, the same education law regarding teachers should be applied to the schools,'' said Kim Dong-seok, spokesperson of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Association. `
`We have already proposed that the Education Ministry set up regulations regarding qualification of teachers at the schools.''
Korea has recently eased rules, allowing the establishment of more foreign schools. Under the new regulations, nonprofit foreign corporations and Korean educational foundations can set up international schools eligible for financial support from the government. A maximum of 50 percent of Korean nationals may enroll in the schools.
There are 46 foreign schools across the country with about 11,000 students. Some 20 International or English-speaking schools charge parents over $20,000 a year.