By Kim Rahn
Progressive heads of six metropolitan and provincial education offices have proposed an independent committee to discuss educational reforms.
Those superintendents made the proposal at Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education building Thursday, marking the first anniversary of inauguration. They are Kwak No-kyun of Seoul, Kim Sang-gon of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, Min Byeong-heu of Gangwon, Jang Hui-guk of Gwangju, Chang Man-chai of South Jeolla and Kim Seung-hwan of North Jeolla.
They said in a joint statement that education policy should not be swayed by administration’s political inclination.
“To carry out policy firmly, we need a national discussion body excluding political intervention. We propose a ‘national education committee’ comprised of members from educational circles, local authorities, business, the central government, National Assembly and civic groups,” the top educators said.
Kwak said people from all walks of life will make a blueprint for the committee. “What we need this time is making a big picture for social discussion and consensus,” he said.
They said during the previous year, they have struggled against the bureaucratic system and practices that fetter autonomy in education.
“Instead of hierarchic governance where policy is chained from the education ministry to metropolitan and provincial offices, then to regional offices and finally to schools, we’ll form a ‘horizontal’ governance where teachers, students and parents can play the main role in public education,” they said.
Besides the committee plan, those chiefs presented other reform suggestions, including allowing teachers, parents and students to participate in the government’s education policymaking.
They also urged the education ministry to give more autonomy to teachers in curriculum and textbook writing.
Those progressive superintendents called for educational welfare, such as free school meal programs and reduction in college tuition. They also demanded the government spend 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on education, an OECD average, while it currently spends about 4 percent.
Regarding their statement and suggestions, the conservative Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations said teachers evaluated the superintendents’ policies negatively, adding teachers say education has become “political.”
In contrast, in its survey the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union said 70 percent of 687 teachers were in favor of the education chiefs’ policies.