Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, front row fifth from left, poses with ‘teachers of merit' at his office in Seoul, Tuesday, a day before Teachers' Day. A recent survey by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Association showed that most teachers say their morale is declining. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon



By Kim Jae-heun



Teaching used to be a respected profession and teachers used to have pride in their job.



These days, however, nearly nine out of 10 teachers feel demoralized, sometimes facing verbal and physical violence from students and dealing with parents' unreasonable complaints.



According to a survey on 5,493 teachers from kindergarten to university by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA), released on Monday ahead of Teachers' Day today, 87.4 percent said their morale has fallen in the last year or two.



The figure was the highest ever, compared to 55.3 percent in 2009, 79.5 percent in 2011 and 75 percent in 2015.



According to the survey, 65.3 percent said they disagree that teachers' authority is protected and respected at school. Only 10.4 percent agreed.



More than half of the teachers said low morale results in a lack of interest in giving educational guidance to students, as well as deepening their distrust of the education system.



The teachers said the hardest part of their job was dealing with complaints from parents, at 55.5 percent. Some 48 percent said they had difficulty dealing with disorderly students, when multiple answers were allowed.



They believed the fall of teachers' authority at school was the main reason for the increasing number taking voluntary early retirement, followed by growing complaints from parents.



Many teachers also say their privacy is infringed on because of endless phone calls from parents who make inquiries about homework or consult about the children, especially after work hours.



According to a KFTA survey last June on 1,835 teachers at kindergartens to high schools, 96.4 percent of them gave their phone numbers to students and their parents, and 95.8 percent of them received calls or messages from them.



And 64.2 percent of them said the messages and calls arrived "at any time," including evenings, weekends and holidays.



In this situation, education offices in Seoul, South Gyeongsang Province and South Chungcheong Province plan to provide teachers with a second mobile phone or second number for use only during work hours exclusively for communication with students and parents.



Data from the Ministry of Education also showed teachers' falling authority, as a growing number of elementary students are infringing on this, although overall such cases are on the decline at middle and high schools.



The number of such cases ― students' abusive language, physical violence and sexual harassment of teachers ― has increased from 25 in 2014 to 122 last year. There were even cases of threats and defamation.



"The decline of teacher's morale and authority went to the level of collapse, which can lead eventually to their indifference and cynicism in school affairs. Countermeasures to fight the issue are urgent," a KFTA official said.

