"Granting Autonomy to Schools" vs "Shifting Quarantine Responsibility": Education Ministry and Schools 'Different Dreams' Ahead of New Semester?Is It Okay?

Nearly 50,000 Confirmed Cases as of Midnight on the 9th... Student Cases
Ministry of Education Announces Academic Operation Plan for March New Semester... Schools to Conduct Independent Epidemiological Investigations and Flexibly Manage Academics
Teachers' Union: "Teachers Are Taking on Roles of Quarantine and Health Authorities"
Ministry of Education: "Thorough Preparations Underway to Minimize Schools' Burden"

Students are attending school while practicing social distancing at an elementary school in Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The Ministry of Education announced a new school quarantine system starting from the March new semester, entrusting not only academic operations but also epidemiological investigations and measures for close contacts to the discretion of schools. This has sparked complaints from the education field, with criticisms that the quarantine duties and responsibilities are being shifted onto schools and teachers.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Education announced the 2022 first semester quarantine and academic operation plan in response to Omicron. Unlike the previous system where academic operations were uniformly decided based on density, the new system allows flexible responses according to the characteristics of the field, such as school size, school level, grade, and class. For example, when a confirmed case occurs within a school, the school itself will conduct an investigation instead of the quarantine authorities.

There are criticisms about whether it is appropriate for schools to take charge of quarantine and epidemiological investigations. Amid the surge of confirmed cases due to the spread of the Omicron variant, there are concerns that having schools as the main quarantine agents instead of the quarantine authorities could cause significant confusion. As of midnight on the 9th, the number of new confirmed cases was 49,567, an increase of 12,850 from the previous day (36,717).

There are also concerns that even more confirmed cases may occur in March when the new semester begins. At the regular briefing on the 7th, the quarantine authorities forecasted that the number of confirmed cases in Korea could reach between 130,000 and 170,000 by the end of this month. This is a modeling result that comprehensively considers the future speed of the epidemic, transmission potential, infection probability, and vaccination effectiveness.

The increase in student confirmed cases is also significant. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, as of midnight on this day, the number of confirmed cases among students in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul was 1,424. This is about four times higher than the previous day (353), greatly surpassing the previous highest record of 699 cases on the 3rd.

On the 3rd, medical staff at the health center in Buk-gu, Gwangju, assisted testees with rapid antigen tests using self-diagnostic kits at the screening clinic.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Voices of discontent are erupting in the field. There is concern that ultimately the quarantine duties and responsibilities are being shifted onto teachers. The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations issued a statement on the same day, saying, "It is deplorable that after three years of COVID-19, the education authorities only provide related budgets while quarantine duties are still burdened on teachers," and strongly urged, "A system should be established where quarantine is fully handled by disease authorities, education offices, and quarantine support personnel so that schools can focus on education."

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union also released a commentary on the same day, stating, "We want to ask whether it is possible to have proper classes and educational recovery when teachers are fully mobilized for school quarantine," and expressed concern that "teachers have ended up taking on the roles of quarantine authorities and health authorities within a structure where 'schools decide and take responsibility on their own.'"

They added, "While it is difficult to hastily criticize the Ministry of Education's claim that full attendance is necessary to address academic gaps and educational recovery," they criticized, "It is a typical case of irrationality to place schools and teachers, who have no expertise in infectious diseases, at the forefront of quarantine that even quarantine authorities find difficult to handle, and to expect them to perform the role of educational recovery."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education stated that it is making thorough preparations to minimize the burden on schools at all levels. According to the explanatory materials released that day, if a confirmed case occurs within a school and the school conducts its own investigation, the Ministry plans to provide guidelines, including specific criteria for classifying contacts and diagnostic testing methods for contacts, in consultation with quarantine authorities.

In addition, they are negotiating to operate an emergency response team that can support schools when self-investigation is necessary upon confirmed cases, and plan to deploy about 70,000 dedicated school quarantine personnel and health teacher support staff to schools at all levels.

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