School Teacher Evaluation System to be Experimented

It is expected that the heavily controversial school teacher evaluation system will be experimented in 48 elementary, middle, and high schools throughout Korea sometime during September.

Vice Minister and Minister of Education and Human Resources Development Kim Jin-pyo held a meeting with members of the “Education and Civil Society” and other organizations at the Ministry of Education building on August 3 and announced, “Clearing off unqualified teachers will start on September 1, and the school teacher evaluation system will be experimented in September.”

The meeting was held to hear the opinions of organizations that did not attend the “Special Council to Improve School Education.” Most of the attendants demanded to stop the exhaustive controversy and quickly employ the evaluation system.

In response Vice Minister Kim answered, “[If there is no agreement at the council on a single execution plan] We will receive requests from elementary, middle, and high school throughout the 16 provincial and metropolitan education offices, select a system, either the one proposed by the ministry of education or school teacher association, and carry out experiments on it.”

He added, “If possible, we will conduct the system in September for about six months, and in a year, finish the discussion on the total adoption of the system and employ it nationwide.”

Kim explained, “Separately from the evaluation system, we will give the opportunity of education programs for incompetent, incapable teachers, and if they do not improve even after that, they will be seen as unqualified teachers and take the appropriate measures. Furthermore a system that clearly sets the reasons for not qualifying such as receiving bribes, meddling with scores, mental and physical disorders, sexual harassment and eliminates such unqualified teachers should be created.”

Korea Federation of Teacher`s Associations Spokesman Han Jae-gap said, “The school teacher evaluation system should in principle be agreed upon at the council, and if the Ministry of Education ignores it and pushes it forward, we can only but review withdrawing from the council.”

In-Chul Lee inchul@donga.com