Plan to Expand In-Person Classes Announced Today at 5 PM... Will 'Morning and Afternoon Sessions' Become a Reality?

Considering Confusion at School Sites... Likely to Be Applied from the 19th

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The Ministry of Education will announce specific academic operation plans on the 11th, following its policy to expand in-person classes. According to the Ministry of Education, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye will hold a briefing at 5 p.m. at the Government Seoul Office and announce the academic operation plans effective after the 12th.

Earlier, the government advised that due to the need to monitor the spread of COVID-19 after the Chuseok holiday, the number of students attending in-person classes nationwide in kindergartens, elementary, and middle schools should be kept within one-third, and high schools within two-thirds, until the special quarantine period for Chuseok ends on the 11th.

On the morning of the 21st, the first day of school reopening in the metropolitan area, second-grade students at Hansan Elementary School in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, are wiping their desks with disinfectant before class. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of Education’s academic operation plan will basically align with the social distancing level announced by the quarantine authorities on the day. So far, the Ministry has recommended limiting in-person attendance to two-thirds of students in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide under social distancing level 1. If the level is raised to level 2, the density for kindergartens, elementary, and middle schools will be kept within one-third, and high schools within two-thirds. Although unlikely, if level 3 is reached, in-person classes will not be allowed, and schools must either conduct fully remote classes or close.

However, this time, even if social distancing is at levels 1 or 2, the method of attending school is expected to differ from before. This is because the Ministry of Education has repeatedly announced policies to expand in-person classes due to concerns about academic gaps. Earlier, at a press briefing on the 5th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "While maintaining density according to quarantine standards, we must expand in-person classes especially to address learning gaps among lower-grade elementary students."

So far, dividing attendance into morning and afternoon sessions or by grade level in the morning and afternoon is expected to be the likely method. Prior to the Ministry of Education, some metropolitan and provincial offices of education, such as Sejong City Office of Education, announced plans to expand face-to-face classes by introducing staggered attendance.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education will announce on the day a plan to relax the criteria for small schools where all students can attend daily. Currently, small schools with fewer than 60 students are exempt from density restrictions under social distancing, and there is consideration to expand this criterion to schools with up to 300 students. If the small school criteria are relaxed, the number of schools where all students attend daily is expected to increase, especially in non-metropolitan areas.

The attendance policy announced on the day is expected to be applied from the following week on the 19th. This is to prevent confusion at schools given the immediate need to attend classes the next day.

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