"Can't Even Order Jajangmyeon Delivery" ... Confusion Over Haphazard Emergency Childcare Measures

Next Week Start, but Time Extension and Lunch Provision Decided on Friday Afternoon
Teachers and Care Workers Discontented with Policy Ignoring On-Site Communication
"Understand COVID-19 Emergency, but..." ... Parents Also Skeptical

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] "We are also finding out through the news right now... Although the government has made an announcement, there is a time lag before an official document is issued, so we have not received any information yet. We will inform you again."

On the afternoon of the 6th, Vice Principal A of an elementary school in Seoul was busy answering calls from parents. Just an hour after sending an e-alimi (home correspondence) to parents about additional emergency care starting from the 9th due to the school reopening delay, the Ministry of Education suddenly announced that the emergency care operating hours would be extended until 7 p.m. and lunch would be provided. Earlier, parents had been notified to prepare lunch and snacks individually.

Vice Principal A said, "I understand that the COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving, but the Ministry of Education is issuing policies unilaterally without even minimal communication with schools, so we are repeatedly confused," adding, "When I checked with the education office supervisors, they were equally surprised as they did not know the details."

At another elementary school in Seoul, a teacher in charge was sweating trying to find a meal delivery service. Since emergency care applications were still being accepted, the number of meals and unit prices were uncertain, making it difficult to find a provider willing to handle a two-week meal service.

The school's head of academic affairs sighed, "Since COVID-19, meal service companies seem to be in an emergency state managing staff and hygiene from ingredient preparation to cooking and delivery," adding, "But we cannot just buy lunch boxes from outside or order jajangmyeon delivery, can we?" The school managed to resolve the children's lunch issue only after verbally contracting with one company late in the afternoon, after staff had left.

Although the government has proposed measures to minimize care gaps during the school reopening delay period due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), complaints are rising that makeshift administration is increasing confusion at school sites. Without consultation with frontline teachers or prior guidelines, policies are announced unilaterally and immediately enforced, making it difficult to properly prepare care services.

An elementary school teacher said, "We only learned about the government's retrieval of masks stored at schools and the decision for the second school reopening delay through the news," adding, "Parents keep asking various questions, but it is difficult to respond immediately or provide any definite answers on our own."

As the school reopening delay period lengthens, care workers responsible for students' daily lives are complaining about excessive workload and infection risks. A care worker in Gyeonggi Province said, "Until three days ago, emergency care was supposed to be provided until 5 p.m., but today the government announced it will operate until 7 p.m.," adding, "Schools had no time to find substitute staff, so if we get messages on KakaoTalk over the weekend to work extended hours, we will have to be on standby like an emergency response team."

Another care worker said, "When more than ten children stay in a classroom all day and then leave, it is the care workers' responsibility to spray ethanol disinfectant on desks and chairs and wipe them down," adding, "No matter how much we put masks on children and seat them apart, once they turn around, they cluster together playing and fooling around, so what’s the point?"

Parents are also not very pleased with these emergency care measures. A parent of a second grader said, "Working families want their children to be protected in a safe environment, but since no health teachers come to school and there are not enough care workers, children who leave late have to move classrooms and combine classes," adding, "I wasn’t unhappy about packing lunch, but isn’t the policy focusing on the wrong thing?"

Another elementary school parent in Gyeonggi Province pointed out, "Many apply for emergency care but do not actually use it because they try to avoid sending their children to school due to infection concerns," adding, "We should minimize the demand for emergency care by mandating family care leave, rather than expanding care services, which is not appropriate as a COVID-19 measure right now."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.