SEOUL, - Nearly 3,000 former police officers and teachers will be hired as dedicated investigators to take over school violence cases from incumbent teachers, government officials said Thursday.

The plans were announced by the police and the education and interior ministries as part of measures to better deal with growing school bullying cases.

Currently, school teachers are tasked with investigating school violence cases, leaving them exposed to direct complaints from parents and making it hard for them to focus on education.

Under the plans, the government will hire 2,700 former police officers and former school faculty members as "dedicated investigators" in charge of school bullying cases.

Split into teams of 15 investigators each, they will be assigned to 177 regional education offices nationwide, government officials said.

The education ministry expects that the introduction of school violence investigators will enable schools and teachers to focus on their educational roles, providing support for school violence victims and mediating between perpetrators of school violence and their victims.

Under the plans, the government will also expand the workforce of school police officers by 10 percent from the current 1,022 to 1,127 to better deal with school violence cases.

"The government will do its utmost to make sure students can study in a safe environment free from threats of school violence and to uphold teachers' authority," Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency