"Three Children but Only One PC..." Concerns of 'Dajanyeo Gajeong' in the Nation's First Online School Opening

On the 30th, a teacher is recording a class video at Hwibong High School in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, which was designated as a remote education pilot school. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] As the Ministry of Education announced that online school openings will begin on the 9th for 12th graders and 9th graders to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), concerns are growing among families with multiple children. This is because at least one smart device per child is required to attend classes online.

The Ministry of Education announced the phased online school opening plan for elementary, middle, and high schools on the 31st of last month. On April 9, 12th graders and 9th graders will start online school, followed by 10th to 11th graders, 7th to 8th graders, and 4th to 6th graders on the 16th, and 1st to 3rd graders on the 20th. This is the first time in history that schools have opened online.

The problem lies with households that cannot immediately conduct online classes. Even if schools establish Wi-Fi and systems, families with poor smart device or internet environments face difficulties. According to the Ministry of Education’s plan to distribute smart devices and support internet communication fees to households with median income below 50%, a survey is currently underway targeting families nationwide with elementary, middle, and high school children. About 67% of the survey has been completed so far, and among them, approximately 170,000 children were found to not have smart devices.

Families with multiple children in elementary, middle, and high school also face challenges. To attend online classes, each child must have at least one smart device such as a PC, laptop, smartphone, or tablet PC, but some families do not have these. Families with parents working from home or university student siblings attending online classes require additional smart devices. Typically, one smart device per household is rented or distributed based on low-income status, raising questions about whether additional devices need to be procured separately.

For now, the Ministry of Education has announced plans to support smart devices and internet access for education benefit recipients by city and province. According to the Ministry, schools currently possess 230,000 smart devices, and the Ministry separately holds 50,000 devices, totaling 280,000 devices available for support. Therefore, it is uncertain whether smart devices will be distributed to families with multiple children who are not low-income.

A single parent with three elementary school children said, "We cannot have them attend classes on small smartphone screens, so we have to give each child a tablet PC. Even if devices are secured, we cannot have them attend classes in the same room, so we have to give up the master bedroom and living room. Since the children are elementary students, not middle or high schoolers, we have to constantly check whether they are following the classes well, so we are worried about what to do."

The Ministry of Education is still in the stage of assessing the digital environment status of each household, so specific schedules such as smart device distribution criteria or timing have not been announced. However, it has stated that if students do not have necessary devices such as internet or printers at home, they will be allowed to use school computer rooms under strict quarantine management.

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