A high school teacher in Gyeonggi Province, a person surnamed Kim, 53, said this in a call with ChosunBiz. Kim, who has long served as a homeroom teacher, last went on a school trip with students 11 years ago. Since then, plans for overnight training activities or school trips have repeatedly fallen through. Not only did student and parent consent rates fall short of the threshold, but teachers also reportedly hesitated to step forward because of the burden of safety accidents.
After President Lee Jae-myung said the decline in school field trips means "(schools) are depriving students of good opportunities to avoid taking responsibility," pushback erupted at schools, calling it "a remark out of touch with reality." Teachers agreed that without changing the system that forces them to risk criminal punishment when accidents occur, it will be difficult to normalize school trips and field learning.
◇ Ninety-five percent of Seoul elementary schools still not going on school trips this year
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 30th, only 231 out of 1,331 elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul (17%) have plans for school trips this year. In particular, only 5% of elementary schools (30 schools) plan to go on trips. In effect, 95% of Seoul's elementary schools have given up on school trips.
Teachers cite the fatal accident of an elementary school student in Nov. 2022 as the decisive turning point for the sharp drop in field learning. At the time, an elementary school student on a field trip at a theme park was hit and killed by a bus backing up.
In the first trial, the court ruled the homeroom teacher had not fulfilled the duty of care and sentenced the teacher to six months in prison, suspended for two years. On appeal, the sentence was reduced with a stay of adjudication, but the guilty verdict stood.
After this case, a perception spread in schools that when an accident happens, the teacher becomes a criminal defendant. An elementary school teacher in North Gyeongsang Province, a person surnamed Kim, 33, said, "Field learning is not even compulsory education by law, and when an accident occurs, the standard for how far teachers must be responsible is unclear," adding, "It is hard to push ahead while taking unnecessary risks."
◇ KTU says the president does not understand teachers' anxiety at all
At a Cabinet meeting on the 28th, President Lee said to Minister Choi Kyo-jin of the Ministry of Education, "You must not throw away the crock jar for fear that maggots might appear," adding, "Field learning is also a major form of study, so if there are problems, they should be corrected, and students should be taken with expense support, reinforcement of safety personnel, and additional hiring."
Teachers' groups immediately pushed back. Park Young-hwan, Chairperson of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), said at a news conference in front of the Blue House fountain the previous day, "Teachers nationwide are not just disappointed but angry at the president's remarks," adding, "The president does not understand at all teachers' anxiety that they may bear criminal responsibility if an accident happens."
The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) also said in a commentary, "Field learning is not merely a matter of supporting safety personnel," adding, "Clear safety duty standards must be legislated so that teachers can focus on educational activities with peace of mind."
The Teachers' Union Federation, the National Special Education Teachers' Union, and the Elementary School Teachers' Union also issued statements. The core point was that it must be clarified how far teachers' management scope extends during field learning.
There are also calls to clarify not only teachers' responsibility for field learning but also the working rules. For school trips, a school committee made up of teachers, students and parents surveys whether to proceed, and the plan must exceed a self-set consent rate, but this benchmark varies widely, which is a prime example.
A high school teacher in the 13th year, identified as A, said, "Even if schools and teachers are determined to go on school trips, many plans fall through because students and parents do not consent," adding, "If you want to increase school trips in light of learning effects, these detailed items also need clear standards."
◇ Government to announce measures next month to strengthen teachers' immunity from liability
The government has begun preparing measures that consider teachers' field learning duties and the burden of responsibility for safety accidents. The plan is expected to be announced as early as next month.
Minister Choi said on personal social media (SNS) the previous day, "The Ministry of Education is gathering on-the-ground opinions from multiple angles to identify support tasks for field learning and find improvements through meetings with field learning experts, six teachers' groups, policy officials at metropolitan and provincial education offices, and the field learning policy advisory group."
Choi added, "In May, we will announce plans that include legal revisions to strengthen teachers' immunity from liability, expansion of assistant staffing, reduction and support of field learning duties, and streamlined manuals."