70% of Students Attend School in New Semester... Special and Health Teachers to Receive Vaccinations Starting April

74.3% of Schools Attend In-Person... 92.1% for Kindergartens
6 out of 10 Schools Conduct Interactive Remote Classes
Basic Academic Skills Assessment Scheduled for End of This Month
Cooperative Classes for Grades 1-3, Online Tutors for Grades 4-6 and Middle School Students

On the morning of the 2nd, students who attended school on the first day of the new semester at Poi Elementary School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are holding an opening ceremony through a video./Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Since the start of the school year in March, it has been found that 7 out of 10 elementary, middle, and high school students are attending school. The Ministry of Education plans to conduct basic academic skills assessments at the end of this month and begin COVID-19 vaccinations for special and health teachers starting in April.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Education announced the "2021 School Operation Status Review and Future Support Plans." As of the 17th, 4,418,000 students, accounting for 74.3% of all students, attended school. By school level, attendance rates were ▲Elementary school 77.1% ▲Middle school 62.7% ▲High school 72.3% ▲Special schools and others 88.6%. Kindergarten attendance was the highest at 92.1%.

The proportion of interactive remote classes is also high. Among 6,242 schools conducting remote classes until the 12th after the start of the school year, 62.2% (3,887 schools) operated more than 80% of their remote classes as real-time interactive sessions. Due to ongoing errors and inconveniences related to the newly revamped EBS Online Class Learning Management System this year, the Ministry of Education stated it will stabilize the system’s functions within this month.

To address educational disparities caused by COVID-19, basic academic skill assessments will be conducted by the end of this month. Through the basic academic skills diagnosis and correction system, students from 1st grade elementary to 1st grade high school will take tests. For students lacking basic academic skills, cooperative classes with two instructors per class will be conducted in 2,500 schools, and the number of dedicated basic academic skill teachers will increase from 70 last year to 180. Additionally, 1,961 temporary teachers have been appointed to support cooperative classes for grades 1 to 3 and to split overcrowded classes. For grades 4 to 6 and middle school students, 'online tutors' will be assigned at a ratio of one teacher per four students to provide supplementary instruction and counseling for basic academic skills.

The Ministry of Education will pilot environmental specimen testing in 100 elementary, middle, high schools, and universities starting in March to regularly assess COVID-19 risk levels in school dormitories. Specimens will be collected from dormitory door handles, faucets, walls, switches, and other surfaces to check for COVID-19 contamination.

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency will begin COVID-19 vaccinations for 64,000 special and health teachers starting the first week of April. Approximately 490,000 kindergarten, daycare, and 1st-2nd grade elementary school staff and childcare workers will receive vaccinations starting in June. The Ministry of Education stated, "Other staff will be vaccinated in early Q3, and teachers responsible for 3rd-year high school students will be vaccinated during school breaks considering the college entrance exam schedule."

So far, 43,529 school site quarantine support personnel have been deployed, reaching 80.6% of the target. Through the March supplementary budget, the Ministry is negotiating with the National Assembly to deploy an additional 3,445 quarantine guidance personnel for special schools and classes.

Jeong Jong-cheol, Vice Minister of Education, said, "School sites are currently busier than ever to protect the precious daily lives of our children," and added, "We will continuously listen and communicate to understand what is needed at school sites."

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