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N. Korea tightens teacher training with new mandatory tests

North Korean authorities have intensified teacher training programs with stricter tests, following calls for “educational improvements” at last year’s ruling party plenary meeting.

According to a Daily NK source in South Pyongan province, Sukchon county’s teacher training center began a 20-day program on Jan. 10 for elementary, middle, and high school educators.

The provincial education bureau traditionally conducts intensive subject-specific training during summer and winter breaks, separating teachers into natural sciences (physics, chemistry, math, biology) and social sciences (revolutionary history, music, physical education).

This winter’s sessions emphasize improving classroom instruction and lesson planning skills. The provincial education bureau has directed training centers to move beyond simple lectures, citing the party plenary meeting’s demand for enhanced teacher quality. Training centers have responded by adopting the slogan “The education revolution is the teachers’ revolution.”

In a significant departure from previous practices, all participating teachers must now take post-training examinations, with results affecting their performance assessments. “Previously, these sessions were often perfunctory, and testing wasn’t universal,” said an elementary school teacher in Sukchon county. “While I understand the need to evaluate teacher professionalism, everyone’s anxious about mandatory testing.”

The provincial education bureau has warned that “teachers who don’t try to improve themselves are not qualified to be teachers.” However, educators have highlighted several systemic issues with the vacation training programs.

When training venues are distant, teachers must cover their own food and lodging expenses, leading many to use connections and bribes to avoid attendance. Teachers also criticize the disconnect between the program’s ambitious goals and its poor facilities.

“It’s hard to imagine meaningful change when we lack basic resources like adequate lab rooms and training tools,” the Sukchon county teacher noted. “Training alone can’t overcome these fundamental deficiencies.”

Read in Korean

January 17, 2025 at 03:09AM

by DailyNK(North Korean Media)

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