From Today, Two-Thirds of Students Nationwide Return to School... First Graders Attend School Every Day

Expanded from the 19th after preparation period
Daily attendance for 1st graders excepted

Strict limits on overcrowding, oversized classes, and metropolitan area numbers
Ministry of Education supports quarantine personnel

On the 21st, when in-person classes resumed at kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, second-grade students at Hansan Elementary School in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, were attending their first-period class. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The number of students attending school nationwide will be relaxed to within two-thirds. In addition, most first graders in elementary schools across the country are expected to attend school every day.

According to the education sector, starting from the 19th, the nationwide attendance limit for elementary, middle, and high schools will be relaxed from one-third (two-thirds for high schools) to within two-thirds.

Earlier, as the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) eased social distancing to Level 1 from the 12th to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the density of school attendance was also relaxed. Although the Ministry of Education announced the policy on the 12th, it decided to apply it from this day after a one-week preparation period to prevent confusion at schools.

The Ministry of Education announced that strict attendance limits will be applied only to overcrowded schools, densely populated classes, and schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, while other schools can adjust density according to regional and school conditions, so a significant number of students in non-metropolitan schools are expected to attend school daily going forward. In the case of overcrowded schools and densely populated classes, some schools are expected to have students attend daily by limiting the number of students attending at the same time to two-thirds through staggered attendance and morning/afternoon shifts.

Although full attendance of all students is difficult in schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, first graders are an exception and can attend school daily in Seoul and Incheon. In Gyeonggi Province, depending on the school, not only first graders but also second graders attend school daily or four times a week. Since attendance limits are strictly applied, other grades in the metropolitan area will attend school two to four days a week. In Seoul and Incheon, the policy allows first-year middle school students to attend school more days than other grades for reasons such as school adjustment.

The Ministry of Education will deploy 47,000 support personnel for quarantine, about 7,000 more than in the first semester.

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