Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education Strives to Bridge Learning Gaps by Establishing an 'Education Safety Net'

Gwangyang Seonghwang Elementary School supporting remote classes due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 11th that it has established a ‘Plan to Improve the Quality of Remote Classes and Strengthen the Educational Safety Net’ to address learning loss and academic achievement gaps caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and has begun supporting schools.

First, a budget of over 400 million won was provided to 81 middle and high schools to enable students with basic academic difficulties to receive face-to-face classes, individual and small group face-to-face guidance, and after-school classes.

Additionally, in collaboration with the College of Education at Chonnam National University, an online mentoring program by university students will be operated during the second semester to support students with basic academic difficulties caused by learning loss.

The online mentoring program is divided into the first and second sessions, assigning 2 to 3 middle school students in the province who need basic academic improvement to one university student, and individual guidance will be provided from the 5th of this month until February next year.

Furthermore, plans to actively promote measures to strengthen communication between teachers and students, which has been pointed out as the biggest weakness of remote classes, will be implemented. Real-time video conferencing programs or social networking services (SNS) will be used for morning and closing meetings in all remote classes to check attendance and health status and to summarize the day’s remote class content.

In particular, the proportion of real-time interactive classes will be gradually expanded, and consultations with students and parents via wired and wireless communication will be actively utilized. The functions of remote class platforms such as e-Hakseupter and EBS Online Class will be enhanced to ensure smooth communication and feedback on learning content between teachers and students, and infrastructure improvement projects will continue.

To alleviate parents’ anxiety about remote classes, various materials helpful for child education (guidance on remote class methods, support for self-directed learning, lifestyle and psychological support, etc.) will also be developed and provided.

Superintendent Jang Seok-woong said, “Although the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education is demonstrating wisdom to turn the crisis into an opportunity amid the COVID-19 situation, concerns about learning loss and academic gaps caused by remote classes remain significant,” adding, “We will prepare more proactive and creative policies and strengthen on-site support to prevent further academic gaps.”

Schools and city/county education support offices are also providing multifaceted support to students independently of the provincial office’s support measures. Hwasun Oseong Elementary School, at the start of the second semester, judged that the key to improving students’ literacy and academic achievement is reading education and is conducting various reading activities. Naju Geumcheon Middle School has expanded real-time interactive remote classes at the class level.

Park Kyung-hee, Director of Secondary Education, stated, “Schools should minimize learning loss by checking learning levels through formative assessments during classes,” and added, “We will establish and actively implement various measures to increase face-to-face student guidance.”

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