In a challenge to the last bastion of lifelong guaranteed employment, the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education hired only 100 new elementary school teachers last year, one-fifth of the 500 new teachers employed in 2002. An official said the office had to reduce the number of new teachers since the number of children starting school shrinks by 8,000-9,000 a year.

Education degrees for elementary school teachers have been enjoying huge popularity because graduates were practically guaranteed a job. Often, graduates of prestigious colleges or those already in work in other fields went back to complete an education degree in the belief that teaching still offers guaranteed lifetime employment

The average competition rate for 11 education universities for elementary school teachers nationwide was 2.78 applicants for every place in the 2006 College Scholastic Ability Test. But there are signs that Korea’s record-low birthrate is putting an end to teacher training colleges’ golden days. According to the Education Ministry, in the period since 1999, more than 90 percent of teaching graduates landed a job. But the figure for 2005 was 4,881, a mere 87 percent of 5,595 graduates, according to the National Statistical Office, exposing the 100 percent employment rate as a myth.

The government has sensed the critical situation. The Board of Audit and Inspection advised in July 2005 the Education Ministry to reduce the number of new students for education universities from the current 6,000 to 4,000. A BAI official said a class will consist of only 24 students in 2011, with one teacher taking care of 17.8 students in 2010. Given the current number of newborns, the number of elementary students will dwindle from 4.12 million in 2004 to 3.55 million in 2010.

Busan National University of Education has maintained a limit of some 600 new students since 2003. Gyeongin National University of Education also left the number of admissions unchanged this year after increasing it from 640 in 2004 to 970 in 2005. An official with the school said it has no plan to raise the quota, although demand for teachers in Gyeonggi Province has been greater than elsewhere. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education forecast that the quota of new students for education universities will be frozen for two or three years, and then reduced.

(englishnews@chosun.com )