Poll: S. Korea needs more male teachers

SEOUL, July 7 (UPI) -- South Korea needs to establish a quota for male teachers to correct a gender imbalance, nearly 90 percent of teachers polled said.

A quota should be mandated to keep the ratio of female teachers from exceeding 70 percent, said 89.3 percent of the teachers interviewed by the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations.

Most of the 433 male and 116 female teachers interviewed said South Korea's overall lack of male teachers presents problems in teaching and counseling students, The Korea Times said.

Of the female teachers interviewed earlier this month, 73.3 percent said a dominance of female teachers meant a lack of male role models for students, while nearly 78 percent said they supported a quota to resolve the gender imbalance.

South Korean schools have been exempt from a law that allows government agencies to adjust gender ratios, the Times said.