School Reopening in May... Lessons to Learn from Singapore

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] As kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools are expected to reopen for in-person classes in May, there are voices calling for learning from Singapore's case.

Singapore, once regarded as a 'model country for quarantine,' saw a surge in confirmed cases after reopening schools on the 23rd of last month. Within two weeks of reopening, the cumulative number of confirmed cases more than doubled from around 500 to about 1,000.

When a cluster infection occurred at a kindergarten just two days after reopening, the policy of 'one day of remote learning per week' was adopted, but as the spread of infection did not subside, the government eventually switched to full remote learning after 11 days.

The government's statement that "in-person school reopening must apply more conservative standards than the transition to everyday quarantine" is also analyzed as being influenced by Singapore's case.

The government has been preparing for in-person school reopening by distributing 'school quarantine' guidelines for over a month. This is based on the judgment that in-person reopening is more efficient than online reopening in terms of educational effectiveness.

Kim Kang-lip, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, stated on the 29th, "Especially for students preparing for entrance exams, timely securing of evaluation records through tests is a limiting factor for managing admissions."

According to the government, as of the 23rd, 99% of the 20,445 schools nationwide?including 8,374 kindergartens and 12,071 elementary, middle, and high schools?are ready for in-person reopening.

Specifically, temperature checks will be conducted upon arrival, and desks in classrooms will be spaced sufficiently apart. Hand sanitizers and masks are stocked, and disinfection is carried out. Differentiation of class and meal times is also under consideration.

The exact timing of in-person reopening will be decided by comprehensively considering various factors. Chief Coordinator Kim said, "We plan to decide by thoroughly reviewing the infection risk situation and how well preventive measures and preemptive blocking of that risk are implemented on site," adding, "We are discussing ways to proceed with full in-person reopening at the appropriate time while ensuring safety measures."

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