Ministry of Education Contemplates New Semester In-Person Classes... Considering Partial Expansion

'2% In-School Infection' Triggered by Director Jeong Eun-kyung's Paper
Expansion Considered Within Compliance Range of Quarantine Attendance Limits

On the 13th, a bouquet of flowers was placed on the teacher's desk in a 6th-grade classroom at Wonhyo Elementary School in Seoul, where a non-face-to-face graduation ceremony was held due to COVID-19. On this day, graduates and parents attended the graduation ceremony in real time by connecting online. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Ahead of the new semester, the government is deliberating whether to expand in-person classes. A paper involving Jeong Eun-kyung, the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), has sparked public debate favoring full expansion, but the education authorities are considering a partial expansion.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Education plans to announce details regarding in-person classes as early as the end of this month after consultations with quarantine authorities. While maintaining the allowable number of students attending school according to quarantine levels, they are expected to introduce new policies considering ways to expand attendance. The previous day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye’s reference to Director Jeong Eun-kyung’s paper is also interpreted as leaving the possibility of expanding in-person classes open.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo said, "An epidemiological investigation analyzing data from May to July last year, after in-person classes began in May, showed that only 2.4% of confirmed COVID-19 cases among 3- to 18-year-olds were due to in-school transmission," referring to the paper co-published by Director Jeong Eun-kyung and the research team from the Department of Social Medicine at Hallym University College of Medicine. Yoo added, "At that time, thorough preparations for in-person classes, strict quarantine measures, and early monitoring to block suspected cases were diligently carried out at schools," and emphasized, "Many people are concerned about the deepening educational gap due to COVID-19. We must do our best to ensure that educational disparities can be alleviated within schools."

The paper analyzed infection cases from May 1 to July 12, during the period of phased in-person classes. Among 126 confirmed COVID-19 cases in children and adolescents aged 3 to 18, only 3 cases (2.4%) were infected at school, indicating that school closures did not significantly affect the proportion of confirmed cases.

An official from the Ministry of Education explained, "The paper analyzed statistics from the early stages of COVID-19, and since the timing and circumstances have changed considerably, various factors need to be comprehensively considered," adding, "If possible, we aim to create conditions to expand in-person classes within the scope of compliance with quarantine rules."

Parents are eager for in-person classes to resume as soon as possible due to concerns about their children’s educational gaps. Although the third wave of the pandemic has subsided since mid-month, confirmed cases still exceed 300 daily, and vaccinations have not yet been administered, making it difficult to significantly expand in-person classes immediately. Current guidelines for in-person attendance by quarantine level are: ▲ Level 1 allows two-thirds density ▲ Level 2 and above allow one-third density (two-thirds for high schools) as a principle, with a maximum of two-thirds ▲ Level 2.5 requires one-third density. Level 3 mandates a full transition to remote learning.

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