A Study on the Improvement Measures for Resolving Conflicts Between Central and Local Education Governance

In the case of the conflict between the Minister of Education and the Superintendent of Gyeonggi Province regarding the recording of disciplinary measures against perpetrators of school violence in student records, the key issue was whether the superintendent’s authority to supervise and guide schools within their jurisdiction concerning student records constituted an autonomous function or a delegated one. As previously noted, the superintendent, who was one of the parties in conflict, asserted that the authority to supervise and guide schools with regard to student record entries clearly constituted an autonomous function, while the Ministry of Education maintained that it was a delegated function. The first is the reform of the deputy superintendent system. Second, it is necessary to develop guidelines for establishing and operating a dispute-resolution body. Before establishing such an institution, uniform national standards must be set to address the underlying causes of conflicts and disputes between the central and local governments, and clear criteria and principles for delineating administrative functions and authorities should be articulated. By introducing measures to improve the dispute-resolution procedures between the Minister of Education and provincial superintendents, such as the temporary operation of the Education Autonomy Promotion Committee, strengthening the Council of Provincial Education Superintendents, reforming the state’s supervisory system over local education administration agencies, requesting legal interpretations from the Ministry of Government Legislation to prevent conflicts in advance, and utilizing the Administrative Council Adjustment Committee as an alternative dispute-resolution mechanism, it will be possible to minimize the loss of human and material resources when disputes arise and to ensure that educational administration can be normalized as quickly as possible. In particular, it is necessary to put in place institutional mechanisms that shorten the considerable time required to resolve conflicts and disputes between central and local education authorities through the judicial system, thereby ensuring the smooth conduct of educational administration. In other words, it is necessary to establish and operate an alternative dispute‐resolution body vested with legally binding authority.