687 public elementary and secondary teachers and private middle school teachers in Busan applied for voluntary retirement in February. (image: Pixabay)
BUSAN, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of elementary, middle and high school teachers in Busan who want to retire is increasing year after year.
According to the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education (BMCOE), 687 public elementary and secondary teachers and private middle school teachers applied for voluntary retirement in February.
The figure is up 24.5 percent from 552 during the same period last year. The number of applicants has been increasing by about 100 each year from 290 in 2016 and 2017.
As the BMCOE exceeded the retirement budget secured for this year, it decided limit the number of retirees accepted this year, with 93 people turned down, and accepted only 594, or 86.5 percent of the applicants.
There are a number of reasons for the increasing number of applications for retirement.
The major factors include difficulties guiding students due to a changing educational environment and conflict with a different generation of parents, officials said.
In addition, teacher pensions have also played a role. This is because only public servants who retire by 2021 can receive a pension from the age of 60, and after that the retirement age will be pushed back by one year
In addition, the number of teachers from the baby boom generation is also considered to be one of the reasons for the surge in the number of applicants for retirement.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
