Ministry of Education reviews hub-based substitute teacher deployment, wage support

Bucheon private kindergarten teacher's death prompts policy push

The death of a private kindergarten teacher in Bucheon, who kept reporting to work while sick with the flu and later died, has prompted education authorities to pursue systemic reform. [Created with Gemini]
The death of a private kindergarten teacher in Bucheon, who kept reporting to work while sick with the flu and later died, has prompted education authorities to pursue systemic reform. [Created with Gemini]

By Kim Yong-jae, The Herald Business

The death of a private kindergarten teacher in Bucheon, who kept reporting to work despite being diagnosed with the flu and later died, has prompted education authorities to pursue systemic reform.

A Ministry of Education official said Monday morning at a regular briefing at the Sejong Government Complex that the ministry is "reviewing various options to support private kindergartens in using substitute staff when teachers are absent for sick leave, training or other reasons — in the same way public kindergartens already can."

The plan would expand nationwide a system currently operating only in select regions. At present, only five regional education offices — Seoul, Busan, Ulsan, South Chungcheong Province and Jeju — provide unconditional short-term substitute staffing support for private kindergarten teachers on sick leave.

In February, a private kindergarten teacher in Bucheon died after her condition worsened when she continued working despite testing positive for the flu in late January. She had faced pressure from a shortage of substitute staff and the demands of her work environment. Her bereaved family said at the time that the tragedy was "a disaster born from an environment where private kindergarten teachers cannot freely take sick leave."

On May 28, the Ministry of Education held a meeting of vice superintendents from education offices across the country, attended by Minister Choi Kyo-jin, to discuss detailed support measures. Officials at the meeting discussed a plan under which the ministry would cover wage costs when a private kindergarten independently hires a substitute teacher to fill a vacancy caused by sick leave or other absences.

The ministry plans to finalize its substitute teacher support policy after completing additional consultations with regional education offices following the upcoming local elections.


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