Overcrowded Class of 30 and COVID-19 Confirmed... Parents' Worries Grow in the Dark

School Only Announces Suspension of Attendance Without Providing Confirmed Case Information
Parents Complain "Mom Cafes Are the Only Channel"
Hanam City Hall Does Not Disclose Residence... Attendance Criteria Vary

On the morning of the 2nd, students attending school on the first day of the new semester at an elementary school in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are seen participating in the opening ceremony through a video. This is unrelated to the article content. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Parent A, residing in the Misa district of Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, received a call from the health center on the 16th informing that their child, a second grader in elementary school, was a ‘close contact’ of a confirmed COVID-19 case. While comforting their frightened and crying child, they were frustrated by the lack of information such as the confirmed case’s grade level or how long remote classes would continue. Most elementary schools in the Misa area have overcrowded classes with more than 30 students per class, but first and second graders attend classes without splitting into smaller groups, which has always caused anxiety. On top of that, a confirmed case has now emerged.

The school only informed parents via the e-Alimi system that "a confirmed case has occurred within the school and an epidemiological investigation is underway, and students who have been contacted by the health center are prohibited from attending school." No specific information about the duration of the school attendance suspension was provided. It is also known that the school decided to conduct remote classes for only one day for the confirmed case’s grade. Hanam City Hall only announced the number of confirmed cases on its blog without disclosing the residential areas or movement paths.

Since first and second graders started attending school daily, parents have been increasingly concerned about infections within schools. In new towns like the Misa district, there are about 10 overcrowded classes per grade, but classes have been conducted without splitting. This is because elementary first and second graders are exempt from the school overcrowding standards up to social distancing level 2.

Parent A said, "If the confirmed case attended an academy, other children could also be at risk, but Hanam City did not even inform which neighborhood the person lives in," adding, "The mom caf? is the only source of information." Other parents also expressed concerns, saying, "We were already anxious because of overcrowded classes, but we don’t even know who the confirmed case is, and when news of a confirmed case comes out, parents have to find out by word of mouth," and "According to the children, many students do not wear masks during physical education classes or wear masks improperly (below the chin) when leaving school, so with a confirmed case, it feels hopeless."

Notice to Parents Regarding Confirmed Cases at an Elementary School in Misa, Hanam, Gyeonggi-do

Even when confirmed cases appear, each school has different attendance policies. Nearby schools conducted remote classes for a week, but the school attended by A’s child decided to have remote classes for only one day. A Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education official explained, "In infection prevention management guidelines, when a confirmed case occurs, whether classes can continue is determined based on the epidemiological investigation by health authorities," adding, "Since the health authorities said that in-person classes are possible, it seems that only certain grades conduct remote classes for a day or two before resuming in-person classes." On the other hand, Hanam City Health Center said, "Whether to attend school is decided by the school, and we only provide information on how to classify contacts and the scope based on epidemiological investigation results."

Despite schools and academies being places where many people gather, the health center has not disclosed even the neighborhood of the confirmed cases, causing frustration among parents and local residents. Hanam City Health Center stated, "Due to privacy concerns, we only disclose the neighborhood," but such information was hard to find. Residents criticized, "If there are confirmed cases in three schools but not even the neighborhood is indicated, how are we supposed to be cautious?" and "Since it could spread to all schools in Hanam, detailed disclosure of school-related confirmed cases is necessary."

In the long term, the issue of overcrowded classes must also be resolved. This year, the Ministry of Education temporarily relaxed the criteria for hiring contract teachers to 1.5% of the total number of teachers to allow for class splitting and increasing the number of classes. However, it takes time for individual schools to hire additional teachers, and many schools lack space, making it difficult to enforce class splitting. A bill to limit the number of students per class to 20 or fewer has also been proposed in the National Assembly. A Ministry of Education official explained, "The overcrowded class problem cannot be solved simply by increasing the number of teachers, and it is difficult to arbitrarily increase the number of elementary school teachers."

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