Teachers set to ‘stop public education’ on Monday

Teachers across the country are expected to take part en masse in a nationwide strike by taking annual leave or medical leave on Monday, marking the 49th day of the death of an elementary school teacher in Seoul’s Seocho district, who took her own life in July. Parents are all more confused as the education ministry and regional education boards have expressed conflicting positions over the teachers' collective action.

According to the Education Ministry and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Sunday, 32 elementary schools across the country decided to take a discretionary closing of school on Monday, which teachers' organizations have dubbed ‘Stop Public Education Day.’ That represents just 0.5 percent of the country's 6,286 elementary schools. However, the number of teachers who have decided to take personal or sick leave on the day has not been counted, so education authorities have no idea how large the scale of ‘class stoppage” will be. In the wake of the recent deaths in succession of two elementary school teachers in Seoul and North Jeolla Province, the mood of mourning is intensifying, with 100,000 teachers (police estimates) having participated in the seventh teacher rally on Saturday. An official from the education ministry said, "It is not much different from ordinary days yet," adding, "We will start counting the number of teachers who have taken annual leave or sick leave from 9 am Monday."

While deciding not to take discretionary closing of their school, some schools have received applications from parents for students’ off-campus experiential learning in preparation for the closing of class. In online communities, a number of parents wrote comments, saying, "I was worried about what would happen because my spouse and I are both working, so I have taken my annual leave and signed up for a one-day experiential learning for my child.”


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