Ministry of Education "Wrapping Up This Week's Feedback"... Early May Announcement on School Reopening Including Kindergartens

Discussion at the Deputy Prime Minister-led New Semester Opening Promotion Task Force Meeting

Whether to Implement Sequential School Attendance by School Level and Grade
Collecting Opinions from Teachers and Parents

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The Ministry of Education is expected to announce the timing and method of school reopening as early as the 3rd of next month.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Education stated that during the 12th New Semester Opening Promotion Preparation Team meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, discussions were held with superintendents of education from cities and provinces nationwide, as well as by school level and grade, regarding the reopening of schools.

The Ministry explained, "We will decide based on criteria such as the current status of infectious diseases, controllability, and the burden of home care for children," adding, "We plan to quickly complete the collection of opinions within this week."

At present, the Ministry has not finalized a specific date for school reopening. However, a phased approach by grade and school level is under consideration.

The Ministry's position is to gather as many opinions as possible. The teacher survey will be completed by the 29th, and parents' opinions will be collected from the 29th until the 1st of next month. Consultations with experts, including the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, will also be conducted. Subsequently, when the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters makes an announcement related to daily quarantine measures in early May, the Ministry of Education plans to finalize and announce the timing and method of school reopening in connection with that. The announcement is also expected to include information related to kindergarten attendance.

Meanwhile, the superintendents of education from Jeonbuk, Sejong, and Gyeongnam did not attend the meeting.

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