Teachers prepare online classes in an empty classroom of a high school in the southwestern city of Gwangju on April 1, 2020 (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of students’ infringements of teachers’ rights is increasing in recent days, amid ongoing controversy over a video of a male middle school student lying on the teacher’s platform with a mobile phone in his hands during class, data showed Sunday.
According to the data that Democratic Party Rep. Kang Deuk-gu received from the Ministry of Education, the number of such cases stood at 2,109 in 2021, up from 1,089 in 2020.
Among such cases, insult and defamation accounted for the largest share at 57.6 percent or 1,215 cases, followed by assault at 10.9 percent or 229 cases, sexual humiliation at 9.7 percent or 205 cases, and repetitive unfair interference in legitimate education activities at 4.1 percent or 86 cases.
Looking at the type of punishments given to the students who infringed on teachers’ rights last year, suspension of attendance ranked at the top at 45.4 percent or 929 cases, followed by in-school volunteer activities at 14 percent or 287 cases, completion of special education at 11.5 percent or 235 cases, and transfer to other schools at 8.8 percent or 180 cases.
“The actual number of students’ infringement of teachers’ rights is likely to be far higher considering that there could be many unreported cases,” the lawmaker said.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
