The government will implement a series of measures to enhance safety at schools and prevent incidents like the recent fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old student by a teacher, acting President Choi Sang-mok said Monday.
"School safety management will be further strengthened in the new semester," Choi said during a meeting on education policies, emphasizing the need to prevent such tragedies from occurring on school grounds.
As part of the measures, the government will push for the swift passage of a law aimed at removing teachers with violent or aggressive tendencies from classrooms. The legislation would allow authorities to place high-risk teachers on administrative leave when necessary.
Additionally, the government plans to expand surveillance camera coverage in school blind spots, and reinforce safety management both inside and outside of school premises.
Choi also emphasized that stricter safety protocols will be applied to first- and second-grade students enrolled in the "Neulbom School" program, an integrated before- and after-school day care and education initiative.
To enhance student protection, approximately 8,000 dedicated personnel will be deployed to implement face-to-face handovers and accompanied commutes for young students attending the program, he said.
The measures come in response to the shocking incident earlier this month in which a female teacher in her 40s, who had a history of depression, fatally stabbed an eight-year-old girl at an elementary school in the central city of Daejeon after attending the Neulbom School program. (Yonhap)
