By You Soo-sun
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education proposed new guidelines Monday to improve students’ human rights. It also held a conference to discuss possible changes to increase student autonomy and freedom in schools, but these drew mixed reactions from teachers and parents.
The most controversial topic was the practice of awarding and penalizing students with points, a system that more than 70 percent of public schools now use. This has been criticized as dehumanizing and prone to misuse by teachers. The education office advised allowing students instead to form their own rules, thereby giving them more autonomy.
Also disputed were provisions that further restricted limits teachers and school officials can put on students. Schools will be banned from imposing specific dress codes, and instead will be advised to follow guidelines provided by the education office. As a means to protect the students’ privacy, teachers will not be able to seize or search students' smartphones.
School officials, including those in the Korean Federation of Teachers ― the largest teachers' union, raised concerns about the new plan. Some remarked it would strip them of methods they can use to guide and discipline students. A middle school principal was noted as saying, “Not only is the right to privacy a human right, but also the right to health. It is the school’s responsibility to help students overcome health problems such as addiction.”
The draft also sought to give students more freedom to exercise their political rights, within and outside the school setting. First, students will be allowed to engage in political discussions, which are currently banned at most schools here.
Furthermore, the education office plans to push for legislative changes to lower the voting age to 18 for general elections, in alignment with the OECD standard. As for the election of education chiefs, it plans to push the voting age down to 16, enabling students to be directly involved in determining the kind of education they receive.
The education office will confirm the guidelines in October or November, after considering the opinions of teachers and parents.