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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Teachers protest long waits in heat for TB tests

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

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  • Teachers and staff in Gwangju, South Korea, faced long outdoor waits in hot weather for tuberculosis screenings due to only one X-ray vehicle being provided by the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education.
  • Teacher unions criticized the office for poor administrative planning, citing the predictable number of participants and the lack of sufficient screening vehicles.
  • The unions are demanding a sincere apology and concrete measures to prevent similar situations in the future, such as increasing screening vehicles, spreading out schedules, or implementing a reservation system.

Teachers and staff in Gwangju, South Korea, endured lengthy waits in sweltering heat for mandatory tuberculosis screenings, sparking criticism from teacher unions against the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education. The screenings, conducted outdoors near the Gwangju Education and Training Institute, saw participants waiting for hours under temperatures nearing 30 degrees Celsius.

The number of participants could have been anticipated during the application phase, but deploying only one vehicle shows that the Gwangju Office of Education did not even perform basic demand forecasting.

— KTU Gwangju ChapterCriticizing the education office's administrative planning for the tuberculosis screenings.

The primary issue was the insufficient number of X-ray screening vehicles. On the first day of the screening period, only one vehicle was deployed for an estimated 1,400 individuals. This led to extensive queues, with the screening session extending an hour past its scheduled end time of 4 p.m. It was only after the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) Gwangju chapter contacted the Tuberculosis Association that a second vehicle was added around 3:40 p.m.

Many educators had to endure unpredictable waits in the heat due to the irresponsible administration of the Office of Education.

— KTU Gwangju ChapterDescribing the hardship faced by teachers during the screenings.

The Gwangju Teachers Union condemned the education office's "complacent administration," stating that the number of participants could have been anticipated during the application phase. They argued that deploying only one vehicle demonstrated a failure to perform basic demand forecasting. Many educators were forced to endure prolonged, uncertain waits in the heat due to the office's "irresponsible administration."

There are many ways to reduce waiting times, such as expanding screening facilities, distributing the screening schedule, and introducing a reservation system, but the same situation repeats every year.

— Gwangju Teachers UnionHighlighting the recurring nature of the problem and the availability of solutions.

The Gwangju chapter of the Korean Teachers Union also called for a sincere apology and concrete measures from the education office. They pointed out that solutions like increasing screening facilities, distributing the schedule, and introducing a reservation system are readily available but have been ignored, leading to the repetition of the same situation annually. The unions are urging the office to address these issues effectively to prevent future occurrences.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education must apologize sincerely and present countermeasures.

— Gwangju Teachers UnionDemanding accountability and action from the education authorities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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