dc.description.abstract | For the purpose of protecting and outlining the working rights, interests, and obligations of teachers, enhancing their professional status, and safeguarding students′ right to study, the Teachers Law is hereby formulated. This Law not only maintains the quality of education, but also protects teachers′ right to work. However, with increasing reports of inappropriate behavior of teachers and subsequent negligence and passivity with regards to handling complaints, amendments to how complaints of inappropriate behavior of teachers are treated is required.
To remove ambiguity or doubt, the Teachers Law was amended in 2019 to compensate for the deficiency of the original procedures in eliminating inappropriate behavior of teachers. One such amendment is to improve the rank of the Teacher Evaluation Committee (TEC) in terms of its scope and mode of operation so that the TEC makes use of its professional status to properly handle problems of inappropriate behavior of teachers.
After the revision of the Law, the functions and powers of the TEC have been expanded to a considerable extent, giving it more power and discretion when determining inappropriate behavior of teachers. This paper argues that in cases where the teacher is deprived of work, the court should still examine whether the school′s (or TEC′s) process of making a determination and the reasons for decisions are sufficient to fully protect teachers′ right to work and prevent arbitrary situations.
As for decisions made by the TEC when considering cases submitted by the competent authorities (Teachers Law, Art. 26, item 2, last paragraph), since they directly involve changes affecting the status of teachers, it is considered appropriate to grant relief to the parties concerned against such decisions. However, the qualitative nature of this decision is still questionable. Based on the analysis of the meaning of the provisions, this paper affirms that the nature of the decision has three possibilities: administrative sanction, procedural act, and duty order.
Accordingly, on the basis of the above possibilities, and to obtain immediate relief for the rights and interests of the parties concerned, it shall be appropriate for a teacher who has been dismissed, suspended, or whose contract has not been renewed in accordance with the procedures set out in the last paragraph of item 2 of Article 26 of the Teachers Law to bring an action for rescission of the decision of the TEC.
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