[News Today] Teacher quota cut due to low birthrate

[LEAD]
Low birthrates are shrinking the school-age population, forcing more schools to close. The government has even begun cutting teacher positions. Teacher groups and even local education offices, are pushing back.

[REPORT]
Schools in rural areas were the first to bear the brunt of the impact of low birthrates. Forty nine schools are shutting down this year, while 182 elementary schools have no new students.

The total student population barely topped five million this year but the figure is expected to drop by nearly 800-thousand in four years.

The education ministry again this year slashed the public school faculty quota by 1.8% or 48-hundred teachers, following a 1.3% cut in 2023 and 1.6% last year.

With cutback plans for next year already notified recently, some local education offices are publicly protesting the downsizing.

Lee Sang-soo / Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education
If we reduce teachers in advance to prepare against falling student count, this will affect quality education.

Teachers groups are also raising their voices saying that fewer teachers will hamper the quality of education.

They say teacher numbers are not excessive given that close to two out of every 10 classrooms are still considered congested.

Education minister nominee Choi Kyo-jin who served as education superintendent of Sejong City has been also against reducing the number of teachers.

In a first in the country, he had also set the classroom size of elementary first and second grades at below 20 students.

Choi Kyo-jin / Education minister nominee (Mar. 2022)
A class size of 20 or less should be pursued for the sake of students’ health and academics.

However, some believe that cutting back on the teachers quota is an inevitable policy trend due to the country's low birthrate.

An important task lies before the soon to be appointed new education chief.