Education coalition" of Gyeonggi province governor and education superintendent

Education coalition" of Gyeonggi province governor and education superintendent. July. 01, 2015 08:47. .

Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil who is a member of the leading Saenuri Party, joined hands with liberal-wing and Gyeonggi Province Education Superintendent Lee Jae-jung for an "education coalition." At a joint press conference held at Gyeonggi Provincial Office to mark their first year of inauguration, they said they will promote education policies closely collaborating with each other. They will jointly pursue a "Dream class" project for children coming to school early, improvement of outdated bathrooms at elementary schools and creation of an education them park. Gyeonggi Province also decided to pay upfront legal grant-in aid funds including regional education fiscal grants to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. The consultative meeting attended by the governor and education superintendent will also be regularly promoted. The two institutions joined hands after eight years of conflicts between the former Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo and former Gyeonggi Education Superintendent Kim Sang-kon, which is likely to pave way for better education projects in the region.

Nam said, "The public wants leading and opposition parties to have amicable relationships and work for the nation," adding, "We will do our best to make a place where children and parents are happy." Lee said, "Jointly with Governor Nam, I will pursue student-centered and on-field education so that students, parents and schools all are satisfied." It is rare for the provincial governor and education superintendent who have differing ideologies to hold a joint press meeting. Prior to the meeting, Nam assigned integration unit head to come from the opposition party that has majority seat in the parliament. The latest education policy collaboration to promise cooperation between regional government and regional education office is also a fresh and positive surprise.

Since the local self-government system was introduced in 1995 followed by the direct voting system for education superintendent, heads of local governments and education superintendents have been mired in many ideological conflicts. In April, South Gyeonsang Province and the provincial education office had crashed over the issue to suspend free lunch at schools. Due to differing political stances, Korea`s education policies had to be changed overnight while unnecessary politics frictions resulted in antagonism against each other. Such conflicts will only result in confusion at schools ultimately hurting the students.

Provincial and education administrations need to combine forces to recover the essence of education. They should collaborate and at the same time criticize each other when necessary. They should be companions for co-prosperity and collaboration, and this is needed in all local areas.