Gov't to hire fewer teachers amid low birthrate
- College of Education
- Hit3466
- 2018-05-11
The Ministry of Education announce will hire fewer teachers through the state-run teacher certification examination.
The decision came because of falling numbers of students due to the country's low birthrate. Korean students who graduated with a degree in education must take the state exam if they want to become teachers. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education decided last year to reduce the number of new elementary school teachers by 87.5 percent compared to 2016.
It withdrew the plan, however, and replaced it with a long-term initiative amid controversy among prospective teachers. The latest plan focuses on hiring fewer teachers in proportion to the decrease in the number of students per year. The government hired a total of 4,088 elementary teachers in 2017. It plans to cut the number to about 3,000 by 2030.
This year, 4,000 candidates will take the state examination. The Ministry of Education said it will try to minimize the impact of the reduction of teacher recruitment over the next five years. This comes after considering the number of students currently preparing for the exam or who are studying for an education degree.
Middle schools will hire 4,460 new teachers this year. But this number will fall to between 2,600 and 3,000 by 2030.