Author Topic: GEPIK cutting 200 jobs in 2011. (Read 4323 times)

Brian · « **on:** March 02, 2011, 01:38:52 pm »

From the Korea Times via Brian in Jeollanam-do and the threads on this site about what the cuts mean to teachers:

Quote

According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, the budget allocated to hire foreign English teachers fell to 22.7 billion won ($20 million) for this year from 30 billion won in 2010.

Cho Young-min, senior supervisor of the education office, said the budget cut is in line with the plan to reduce the number of foreign teachers in phases in the years to come.

``We plan to cut about 200 teachers in 2011 from this month. We will also gradually cut the overall number in the coming years,’’ the supervisor said.

But he did not specify how many jobs will be shed at its GEPIK (Gyeonggi English Program in Korea.)

Arranged as a three-year project, the English program by the provincial office had hired more teachers over the past three years. In 2010, the number of teachers increased to some 2,252 in Gyeonggi, a 110 percent jump from 2008 when they first started out with some 1,000.

However, after reaching its peak last year, the number of foreign teachers is expected to slide over the next three years in the province surrounding Seoul.

Cho said the cut will be made upon requests from schools, with Korean English conversation teachers replacing them.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/03/117_82296.html

http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2011/03/gepik-cutting-200-positions-in-2011.html

grajoker · « **Reply #1 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:49:56 pm »

ouch

sweetkat · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:52:08 pm »

note its gyeonggi province, seoul, thats cutting. It says in the article there is no announced cutbacks for GEPIK..yet.

Brian · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:54:18 pm »

Gyeonggi is the province that surrounds Seoul, and the "G" for GEPIK.

twitch · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:56:50 pm »

Public School teachers in Gyeonggi province are part of GEPIK.
This is the area affected by the cuts.

gwiffey · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2011, 01:58:18 pm »

Yes, BUT does that necessarily mean that they will be letting people go, or not allowing people to renew their contracts? Maybe that just means they won't be hiring new teachers, but those who are already here still are pretty secure? After all, if they just didn't hire any new teachers, and only kept those who choose to stay, that would still drastically decrease their number of Native teachers. That, to me at least, seems like it would make the most sense.

lion11 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2011, 02:13:11 pm »

Some of my friends in Gyeonggi-do have been told they can not renew their contracts due to funding cuts. I have only heard this from 2 people and both have found other jobs here in Korea but yes, people are being let go. I love my school and plan on sticking around, so hope these cuts don't effect the vocational (public/private) type schools.

gwiffey · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2011, 02:22:19 pm »

wow that's a bummer. I hope the same type of thing doesn't happen with EPIK over the next few years, or I might have to rethink some things. Glad to hear they got other jobs though, I just hope they're decent ones.

mr sam teacher · « **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2011, 02:27:32 pm »

There will be jobs for us here as long as parents are willing to pay for their children to learn English from a native (that means the foreseeable future). However, GEPIK/EPIK/IMOE/SMOE etc. have provided a welcome escape from the often crooked and never stable world of hakwons. If these jobs disappear, it'll just be back to the bad old days of 11 month terminations and 32 teaching hours/week.

grajoker · « **Reply #9 on:** March 23, 2011, 10:53:49 am »

there are plenty of jobs outside korea you know .........
http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/

mr sam teacher · « **Reply #10 on:** March 23, 2011, 02:53:04 pm »

Quote from: grajoker on March 23, 2011, 10:53:49 am

there are plenty of jobs outside korea you know .........
http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/

True, but for some of us, the only reason we are here in the first place is because of family. So if public school jobs disappear, it's back to the hakwons for us...

paladin777 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 23, 2011, 02:57:50 pm »

*Enter Mr. Robo-english 2000.*

kcjohn7 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 23, 2011, 03:10:40 pm »

Two days ago my co-teacher showed me, and translated, a letter from GEPIK that said they are cutting 100 positions. It also said it was temporary change - which as it was explained to me in this case meant many more changes/cuts could be coming... not that it would go back to "normal."

seeyouinsuwon · « **Reply #13 on:** March 23, 2011, 03:21:41 pm »

it's interesting they're making cuts now when just a couple of years ago they were making some pretty drastic increases. does anybody know why? i know the government is cutting funding, but is it because they actually don't have the budget for GEPIK, or because they're dissatisfied with the job that native english teachers are doing?

JamericanTeacher · « **Reply #14 on:** March 23, 2011, 03:41:24 pm »

Quote from: seeyouinsuwon on March 23, 2011, 03:21:41 pm

it's interesting they're making cuts now when just a couple of years ago they were making some pretty drastic increases. does anybody know why? i know the government is cutting funding, but is it because they actually don't have the budget for GEPIK, or because they're dissatisfied with the job that native english teachers are doing?

According to my co-teacher, its bc the govt wants to shift some of the NT budget to a free lunch program that was voted on last year (I think.) Officials have denied that the cuts are due to the free lunches in news reports I've read so who knows what the real deal is. There may be alot of back and forth with this bc according to my NT, schools and Korean teachers want to keep the NTs and the govt is looking to cut pork from other areas but you know how politics is. Just have to wait and see what happens.

Yu_Bumsuk · « **Reply #15 on:** March 23, 2011, 03:46:45 pm »

My school district (not GEPIK) is phasing out elementary school positions this year. It seems absurd that the two technical HSs still get a FT when it's such a waste on them, but the ES students have to wait until middle school.

I wonder if there's a slight tightening of the belt nation-wide.

English Mike · « **Reply #16 on:** March 23, 2011, 04:00:44 pm »

back to the bad old days you say mr sam teacher, i know you are generalising, but there are a lot of good hagwons out there. You just gotta find em!

singletrackmind · « **Reply #17 on:** March 23, 2011, 04:06:54 pm »

Quote from: mr sam teacher on March 23, 2011, 02:53:04 pm

Quote from: grajoker on March 23, 2011, 10:53:49 am
there are plenty of jobs outside korea you know .........
http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/

True, but for some of us, the only reason we are here in the first place is because of family. So if public school jobs disappear, it's back to the hakwons for us...

True, but there are a lot a great jobs out there for those of us with F2/4 visas. The only reason I'm in the public school is because of job satisfaction, but it's really easy to find jobs that pay twice what EPIK/GEPIK pays.

Danny Boy · « **Reply #18 on:** March 23, 2011, 04:27:41 pm »

[Mod edit - Comment erased. Please act professional or the thread will be locked. First of 3 warnings.]

Yu_Bumsuk · « **Reply #19 on:** March 23, 2011, 04:39:16 pm »

[mod edit - erased Danny Boy's comment]

I said it was a waste on those two technical high schools, which I'm quite convinced it is. Perhaps your technical HS is very different. There are technical and vocational HSs that offer specialised programmes (e.g. tourism, pre-nursing, commerce, etc.) that are quite a bit different. But at the two in my district, it seems quite absurd to be employing FTs when the elementary schools don't have them.

As for going to good universities in Seoul and around the world, don't your students only take English as part of the regular curriculum in year one and take remedial mathematics? If so it's going to be pretty hard to get into a 'good university in Seoul'.

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Author Topic: GEPIK cutting 200 jobs in 2011. (Read 4323 times)

twitch