Mental health teachers, official leave of absence... Ministry of Education promotes 'Sky Law'

I still can't believe how this happened.

The teacher who is the perpetrator says she is the mother of a 19-year-old son who took the college entrance exam.

How could they have harmed a young child... No matter how much they claim to have a mental illness, this is just unbelievable.

I wonder if I will receive proper punishment... I'm really so angry ㅠㅠ

The government is pushing forward with the <Sky Law>.

To enable necessary measures such as official leave of absence for teachers who are unable to perform their duties due to mental illness, and

It is mandatory to confirm whether teachers who have taken leave due to mental illness can return to normal work when they resume their duties.

 

I hope that crimes such as murder committed due to mental illness like depression are not met with lenient punishment.

It was last year when a man in his 40s was brutally murdered with a Japanese sword by a soldier.

It's a scary world ㅠㅠ

 

The government is pushing for a legal revision (tentatively called the Sky Law) to allow measures such as administrative leave for teachers who find it difficult to stand in front of the congregation due to mental illness. It also plans to implement measures such as requiring confirmation of the teacher's ability to resume normal duties when returning to work after a leave due to mental illness.

On the afternoon of the 12th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho held a meeting with the 17 provincial and city superintendents of education at the Government Seoul Office building, discussing the response directions related to the death of an elementary school student in Daejeon, including this matter.

On this day, the Deputy Prime Minister stated in his opening remarks at the meeting, "Schools should be the safest place for students, so this incident is incredibly tragic. As Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for an event that should never have happened."

The Ministry of Education and the Education Office stated, "We will establish fundamental measures to prevent such unfortunate incidents from happening again," and announced that they will promote a legislative revision, tentatively called the "Sky Law," to allow necessary actions such as official leave through a proper procedure for teachers who are unable to perform their duties due to mental health issues.

Along with this, Deputy Prime Minister Lee announced that measures will be prepared, such as making it mandatory to verify whether teachers who have taken leave due to mental illness can return to normal work. Currently, teachers on leave due to depression or other reasons can return to work if they submit a medical certificate stating they are capable of normal work. However, in the future, they plan to verify the ability to work normally after returning through additional methods beyond the medical certificate.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education is also preparing measures to allow for emergency intervention when teachers exhibit abnormal behaviors such as violence. The 40-year-old teacher A, the perpetrator of the Daejeon elementary school student murder case, had shown abnormal behavior at school even before committing the crime. On the 5th, he broke the school computer he was using, citing slow access to the education office portal. On the 6th, he assaulted a fellow teacher by suddenly grabbing her neck with his arm while saying, "Let's leave work together" and "Let's talk."

 

<Source: Chosun Ilbo>