New bill: ‘Suspension from classes’

Students who repeatedly violate rules at schools will be pulled from classes for a certain period as an alternative to corporal punishment so teachers can regain authority in the classroom, officials said yesterday.

The Cabinet approved a bill that would make “suspension from classes” the second highest disciplinary measure against students, next to expulsion.

Under revisions to the enforcement ordinance for primary and secondary education, students who repeatedly engage in such bad behavior as tardiness, carrying banned belongings, smoking, taking drugs, disrupting classes and vandalism, even after undergoing community service and taking a special education program, will be suspended, education ministry officials said.

The students will be kept from attending classes for up to 30 days a year in 10-day stretches.

A similar “suspension” system existed before, but the new system is different in that suspended students are provided with counseling and other educational programs at outside institutes, the officials said.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in January started taking steps to ban corporal punishment and introduce other forms of punishment, including push-ups, walking laps around a track and standing at the back of the classroom, following a series of decisions by local educational authorities to ban corporal punishment.

The National Human Rights Commission, however, opposed the proposed alternatives early this month.

Yonhap