Seoul First Graders Attend School Daily, Expanded for Seventh Graders... Over Two-Thirds of Schools with 300+ Students Can Attend

Up to Two-Thirds Attendance for Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and High Schools
One-Week Preparation Period Followed by Start on the 19th

On June 8, when the fourth phase of in-person classes began for first-year middle school students and fifth- and sixth-grade elementary students, first-year students were heading to school at a middle school in Seoul. According to the Ministry of Education, 1.35 million first-year middle school and fifth- and sixth-grade elementary students attended school that day, marking 98 days since the original school start date of March 2 this year. Previously, third-year high school students first returned to school on May 20, followed by a phased return for each grade level. With this day's attendance, a total of 5.95 million elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide began in-person classes for the first semester of this year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] First graders in elementary schools and first graders in middle schools in Seoul will be able to attend school every day. Schools with fewer than 300 students can also have attendance rates of two-thirds or more.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that starting from the 19th, daily attendance for first graders in elementary and middle schools will be allowed, and the school density for kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools will be relaxed to two-thirds. Specifically, the academic plan presented includes daily attendance for elementary grades 1 and 2, while grades 3 to 6 will attend school 2 to 3 days a week, or first grade daily attendance with grades 2 to 6 attending 2 to 4 days a week. For middle schools, first graders will attend daily, while second and third graders will attend on a rotating or biweekly schedule. After a one-week preparation period starting from the 12th, full operation will begin next week.

With the change in the small school criteria, schools with fewer than 300 students will be granted autonomy to conduct in-person classes with attendance rates exceeding two-thirds, based on the opinions of school members and school conditions. There are a total of 132 schools with fewer than 300 students: 76 elementary schools, 45 middle schools, and 11 high schools.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated that with the expansion of in-person classes, they will strengthen school-specific quarantine measures suitable for flexible academic operations, such as mask-wearing and social distancing, enhanced disinfection during meal processes, and adjustment of break times. Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "We expect that expanding in-person classes for early-stage students will contribute to adapting to school life during the COVID-19 period and reducing educational disparities," and added, "We will spare no effort to support improvements in the combination of in-person and remote classes."

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