No Need to Convene School Steering Committees to Designate Temporary Holidays as Days Off

[The Financial News] From now on, when a temporary public holiday is suddenly declared, kindergartens and schools will no longer be required to convene their steering committees to adjust school closure days.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 6th that the State Council of South Korea had reviewed and approved amendments to the enforcement decrees of the Early Childhood Education Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that include these changes.
Previously, when a temporary public holiday was designated, kindergartens and elementary, middle, high, and special schools had to urgently convene their steering committees to designate that day as a school holiday, which created a heavy administrative burden. With the amended enforcement decrees, schools can now designate a temporary public holiday as a day off without holding a separate steering committee meeting.
Schools will be able to hold classes on temporary public holidays for purposes such as school events or exams, provided they first collect opinions from students, parents, and teachers and obtain review by the steering committee. In the past, on official public holidays, schools could hold events such as sports days or field trips after committee review, but regular classes were not allowed.
The Ministry of Education explained that these amendments to the enforcement decrees reflect both a proposal submitted to the government by the Korean Council of Superintendents of Education and demands from the education field.
The amended enforcement decree of the Early Childhood Education Act, approved at the State Council of South Korea on the same day, also clarifies the criteria for imposing fines related to health checkups for children in kindergartens. This follows the revised Early Childhood Education Act, which took effect on May 12 this year. Under the revised act, if a kindergarten principal has notified a child's guardian about the health checkup three or more times, that case is exempt from fines.
Minister of Education Choi Kyo-jin stated, "Through these amendments to the enforcement decrees, we expect to ease the administrative burden on schools caused by the designation of temporary public holidays and to enable more stable academic operations," adding, "It is also significant that the linkage and consistency between the laws and their enforcement decrees have become clearer."


spring@fnnews.com Lee Bomi Reporter