Teachers` rush toward early retirement

One of the controversial policies made by Lee Hae-chan, the first education minister of the Kim Dae-jung administration, was reducing the retirement age for teachers from 65 to 62. The policy received high public support, but teachers protested. Some of them filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, claiming that the measure was unconstitutional. The top court, however, ruled in favor of the government in 2000, saying the education community should have the "metabolism" to create a "young and vigorous" atmosphere.

The number of teachers applying for early retirement is surging these days. Such teachers are mostly in their 50s who have been working for 20 years or longer with at least one year left before they reach the legal retirement age are eligible. This year, the number of teachers seeking early retirement jumped 25.6 percent year-on-year in Seoul, 44.7 percent in Gyeonggi Province, 30.2 percent in North Chungcheong Province, and 30 percent in Gwangju. The rate of early retirement applications is especially higher among middle school teachers, who face a relatively tougher time in guiding students. In Gyeonggi Province, 315 middle school teachers applied for early retirement this year, up 90.9 percent from a year earlier. With limited budgets, education offices in the province are expected to reject about half of the applications.

A survey of 201 elementary and secondary school teachers by the Korean Federation of Teachers` Associations last month showed that 93.5 percent of them blamed the changing education environment as the main reason for their seeking early retirement. They said they want to leave their schools because of the stress and helplessness stemming from the plunge in teacher authority caused by students` rights ordinances and the ban on corporal punishment. Some say older teachers are being pushed out because of their failure to adapt to new courses and the competitive atmosphere. Education consumers such as parents probably prefer young teachers who have new knowledge and feel less of a generation gap with students.

A few years ago, there was another early retirement rush by teachers. Around 2008, when the government was reforming teacher pensions to increase contributions and give fewer benefits, many teachers resigned for fear over reduced pension benefits. Female teachers are more inclined to seek to enjoy life after early retirement with their pension money than male teachers. Early retirement is helpful toward creating jobs for young people seeking education careers. Yet schools need experienced teachers with a high sense of duty to revive public education and reduce school bullying and violence. The rush for honorary retirement looks anything but honorary.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)