Nationwide Preliminary Elementary School Enrollment Meetings Held... From Mid-This Month to January

Flexible Operation in Person or Online
Participation Requires Bringing School Enrollment Notification

On the 6th, the preliminary enrollment day for elementary schools in the Seoul area, prospective elementary students and their parents are registering for admission at Gaju Elementary School in Songpa-gu. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education and metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide will conduct preliminary elementary school enrollment from mid-this month until January next year for the 2022 academic year.

This is to confirm the whereabouts and safety of children subject to school enrollment and to protect their right to learn. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the process will be flexibly operated either face-to-face or non-face-to-face according to each school's situation, as was done last year.

When conducting face-to-face preliminary enrollment, time slots will be divided including weekday evenings and weekends, and measures such as dispersing gathering locations within the school and using mobile methods (walking or drive-thru) will be utilized to minimize crowd density.

Non-face-to-face preliminary enrollment will confirm the whereabouts and safety of children through online preliminary enrollment or video calls. Various documents, including school life guides for enrolled children and their parents, will be provided and accepted via school websites, email, and text messages.

Parents must bring the enrollment notification when receiving it by mail or in person, as well as when using online issuance services such as Government24, and must attend the preliminary enrollment with their child.

If participation is not possible, parents can contact the school where the child will enroll before the preliminary enrollment date to register separately. For children who cannot enroll due to unavoidable reasons such as illness or developmental conditions, they can apply for enrollment exemption or deferral at the school.

The Ministry of Education will cooperate with education offices, local governments, and police agencies to confirm the whereabouts of children subject to enrollment.

For children who do not respond to the preliminary enrollment, all possible methods such as phone calls, home visits, and school visit requests will be used. If the school has difficulty confirming the child's whereabouts and safety, the relevant police station will be requested to investigate and verify the child's status.

Children who have reached the elementary school entrance age in Korea can receive education regardless of nationality, gender, or residency status. For children who entered the country mid-term and refugee children, the Ministry of Justice sends elementary school enrollment procedure guidance messages in the language of the respective country (or related language) through information linkage. Enrollment guidance materials for domestic schools will be provided in 14 languages.

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