Education Ministry unveils new anti-harassment hotline for teachers

Social Affairs

Published: 28 Feb. 2024, 18:35

Education Ministry unveils new anti-harassment hotline for teachers

A teacher holds a single-person rally, calling for the government to register the death of a young teacher from Seo 2 Elementary School as a line-of-duty death on Feb. 21 in front of the Ministry of Personnel Management in Sejong. The ministry held a session to review whether the death could be classified an a line-of-duty death on the same day. [YONHAP]

Teachers can soon use a new hotline to report incidents of harassment by students and parents.

The hotline service to begin in the spring semester will allow teachers to report infringements of their rights by simply dialing “1395," the Education Ministry said Tuesday.

The measure aims to build an overarching scheme that protects teachers from excessive demands and complaints from students and their parents.

The suicide of a young teacher at an elementary school in Seoul last year opened the conversation on the harassment faced by educators.

The support package includes legal support, psychological counseling and guidance on programs that protect teachers from legal disputes and liability suits.

Any schoolteacher whose authority is violated can file reports by phone.

The first two weeks from March 4 will be a pilot period. The official launch of the program will be on March 17.

The service hours will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. Teachers can book a counseling appointment via KakaoTalk and text messages around the clock.

Upon the reporting, teachers can receive support from the local educational offices or schools where they work.

“The authorities can extend the service hours based on the incoming data during the pilot period,” an official from the Ministry of Education said.

Every school will run a separate team dedicated to handling complaints. Principals will be in charge of the management.

When schools deem handling such complaints is beyond their capacity, they can refer the cases to an integrated response team at district educational offices.

Members from the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, the Korean Federation of Teachers Unions and Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union call for a policy and systematic change to restore teachers’ authority in the classroom and urge the government to register the death of a young teacher from Seo 2 Elementary School as a line-of-duty death on Feb. 20 in front of the government complex in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday distributed guidelines across the country informing teachers of how to manage complaints at their workplaces ranging from kindergarten to high school.

The guidelines outline basic principles for responding to complaints. They also detail ways of classifying complaints and streamlining the communication process.

Additionally, they instruct how to film or record harassment, with examples of best practices in dealing with unusual complaints.

Provincial and city-level educational offices can use the resources at their discretion, reflecting regional characteristics.

“Incumbent teachers authored the guidelines to make them more relatable,” the ministry official said.

The ministry will enforce additional measures to shield teachers from false accusations of child abuse.

Teachers can receive up to 6.6 million won ($4,942) in support for each civil or criminal trial.

Teacher’s liability insurance will cover up to 200 million won per every claim if damages or accidents occur during school extracurricular activities or field trips.

From the insurance, teachers can claim up to 1 million won for property damage and 2 million won for psychological treatment for every loss.

The Education Ministry will mandate superintendents of education to submit their opinions on whether teacher actions constituted child abuse. It is slated to begin on March 28.

“The authorities are currently deciding the window of time when superintendents can file their opinions with provincial and city educational offices,” the ministry official said.

A total of 236 statements were registered with the investigative authorities between Sep. 25 last year and Feb. 2, according to the ministry.

“The ministry will make an effort to raise awareness of a school culture where teachers, pupils and parents can trust each other and rightfully establish teacher’s authority,” said Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho on Tuesday as he promised to communicate with teachers on the front line continuously.

On the same day, the Ministry of Personnel Management notified the bereaved families that the authorities processed the suicide of a 23-year-old Seo 2 Elementary School teacher as a line-of-duty death.

After investigating its end, the Education Ministry found signs that the teacher was struggling because of endless harassment from parents.

BY SEO JI-WON, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]