Korea to limit number of times day care centers need to respond to needless parent complaints
The South Korean government plans to set up a guideline for operation of day care centers to prevent actions that may hinder the operations of child care facilities such as parents repeatedly issuing complaints for no good reason.
The Ministry of Education reportedly issued an administrative notification ahead of implementing the guideline, with will specify the rights imposed on teachers and management of the day care centers. This follows Education Minister Lee Ju-ho — currently doubling as acting president — pledging last month to set up a criteria distinguishing "justified guidance from child abuse crimes."
According to the new guidelines, the parent or legal guardian of a child can issue a complaint about a disciplinary action against a child within 14 days. The head of the day care center is mandated to respond to a complaint within the 14 days it was made.
But if the same complaint is made repeatedly without justifiable cause, the day care center can refuse to reply after responding to the matter twice.
The guideline specified that members of the day care center may implement measures for guidance on a range of issues: matters related to the growth and development of children, those that may inflict health and danger of children or other people, those that infringe justified child care duties of those working for the center or other children's right to be cared for, along with possession and use of items that can influence the overall atmosphere of the class.
As such, teachers and heads of day care centers can guide the child on matters such as manners, use of language and overall communication, conflicts within children, and the attitude toward particularly vulnerable children.
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