As COVID-19 Delays School Opening... Government Expands Free Online Learning for Low-Income Students
[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] As the government delays the start of the school year for middle and high schools nationwide due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and the need for remote learning increases, it has decided to expand free educational content for low-income students.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 16th that it will expand free online learning support for low-income students to include middle school students and will cover not only regular curriculum subjects but also foreign language learning and cultural content such as EBS English, Bandi, and Play. Until now, data provision had been limited to EBS subjects for high school students.
In addition, in cooperation with related ministries such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, new sites such as digital textbooks, e-Hakseupter, and ScienceAll will be added. e-Hakseupter provides online lectures and evaluation questions identical to school classes. On ScienceAll, science experiments for elementary, middle, and high school courses can be viewed in 3D videos.
The government will support general students who are not eligible for the support until the end of May to use these sites without smartphone data usage charges through "zero-rating." This is a temporary support in cooperation with the three major telecommunications companies, providing data-free access to specific sites, so subscribers do not need to apply separately.
Low-income middle and high school students and their parents can easily apply through the customer centers (114) or websites of the three major telecommunications companies they are subscribed to and receive support on a yearly basis.
More detailed information will be provided through online home communications and text messages from the three major telecommunications companies with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education and metropolitan and provincial offices of education.
Hot Picks Today
Taking Annual Leave and Adding "Strike" to Profiles, "It Feels Like Samsung Has Collapsed"... Unsettled Internal Atmosphere
- There Is a Distinct Age When Physical Abilities Decline Rapidly... From What Age Do Strength and Endurance Drop?
- "One Comment Could Lead to a Report": 86% of Elementary Teachers Feel Anxious; Half Consider Resignation or Career Change
- "After Vowing to Become No. 1 Globally, Sudden Policy Brake Puts Companies’ Massive Investments at Risk"
- On Teacher's Day, a Student's Gifted Cake Had to Be Cut into 32 Pieces... Why?
The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “We hope that supporting data fees for educational content for low-income students will help improve learning ability during the COVID-19 situation, and we will continue to strive to contribute to reducing household communication costs and resolving the Data Divide through continuous expansion and strengthening of this support.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
