"What about our child?" Kindergarten and school 'remote classes' announced... Dual-income parents sigh

From the 15th, All Schools in the Capital Area to Switch Fully to 'Remote Classes'
Working Parents Say "We Don't Know What to Do with Our Children..."
Seoul Mayor of Education: "We Will Prioritize Safety and Work to Prevent Care Gaps"

On the 6th of last month, students were moving to the after-school care room at an elementary school in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Han Seung-gon and Kim Young-eun] As the new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in South Korea surpassed 1,000, spreading rapidly, the metropolitan area announced that from the 15th, all schools will switch to remote classes. However, some working parents express their frustration, saying that sending their children to emergency care classrooms raises infection concerns, and yet they have no effective way to provide home care, leaving them feeling helpless.

Over the past weekend, daily new COVID-19 cases exceeded 900 and eventually surpassed 1,000, marking the highest numbers for two consecutive days. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight on the 13th, there were 1,030 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 42,766. This is 80 more than the previous day’s 950 cases.

In response to this surge, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education held an emergency meeting on the 13th and, after consulting with the Ministry of Education, announced that from the 15th, all schools in the city?including kindergartens, elementary schools, and special schools?will switch entirely to remote learning.

Previously, all middle and high schools in Seoul had suspended in-person classes and switched to full remote learning for two weeks starting from the 7th, and this measure was recently extended until the 28th of this month. Small schools (with around 300 students for elementary, middle, and high schools, and about 60 for kindergartens) could decide on in-person attendance regardless of social distancing levels, but this time, the policy is to suspend attendance without exception.

Gyeonggi Province also announced that from the 15th until the end of the year, all schools including kindergartens will switch to remote classes.

Lee Jae-jung, Superintendent of Education in Gyeonggi Province, said on the 13th, "For the safety and health of students, we have closely discussed with the Ministry of Education and the Gyeonggi Provincial Government to switch all schools in the province to remote learning," adding, "To prevent the implementation of social distancing level 3, which could cause enormous damage, we ask students, parents, and staff to work together."

Additionally, graduation and closing ceremonies concentrated at the end of December and early January will be conducted entirely online, and kindergartens and elementary schools will operate emergency care classrooms while strictly adhering to quarantine rules alongside the transition to remote classes.

With all schools suspending in-person attendance, some working parents with young children are voicing their concerns about the increased burden of home care and feeling overwhelmed. Moreover, with all academy classes suspended, children from working families who have no choice but emergency care are gathering in these classrooms, with about 20 students per class, raising anxiety about the risk of COVID-19 infection even when sending children to emergency care classrooms.

As of the 11th, a total of 635 students in Seoul have been confirmed positive for COVID-19. Notably, on the 11th alone, 24 students in Seoul were confirmed infected, of whom 13 were elementary school students.

A member A of a mom caf? based in Seoul said, "As a working mom, I was already sending my child to emergency care classrooms, so I wasn’t particularly worried about the switch to remote classes, but now it’s different," adding, "I can leave my child there, but since cluster infections keep occurring in Seoul, I worry whether it’s safe to send them to emergency care." She continued, "I feel anxious whether I send my child or not, so honestly, I don’t know what the right answer is, and my mind is complicated."

Another parent B said, "Both my spouse and I work, and with the immediate switch to remote classes, I’m worried because I can’t prepare meals for my child," adding, "Due to infection concerns, I don’t plan to send my child to emergency care classrooms, so my child will have to manage lunch alone. I’m considering taking a short break from work for the time being."

Given this situation, there are opinions that at least during the school closure period, working parents should be allowed to work from home. A 40-year-old office worker with two elementary school children said, "Companies are responding flexibly due to COVID-19, and I think education should be the same," adding, "I hope some policy is prepared at least for working parents."

The government plans to continue care services in response to these concerns. The education office plans to operate care classrooms equivalent to emergency care in elementary and special schools and support remote learning. Kindergartens will also continue to provide care services for children who have difficulty with home care after school.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education in Seoul, said, "In this national disaster situation, we will prioritize the safety of our students through proactive academic operation measures equivalent to level 3 and do our best to prevent care gaps," adding, "I earnestly ask everyone to faithfully practice daily quarantine measures for the safety of students."

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