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As the government decided to reinforce social distancing measures, students are attending school in front of a middle school in Seoul on the 17th, the day it was announced that all schools in the metropolitan area and large schools and overcrowded classes in non-metropolitan areas will suspend full in-person attendance starting from the 20th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Starting from the new semester, students must undergo rapid antigen tests twice a week before attending school. Although the Ministry of Education shifted from mandating pre-attendance testing to recommending it, parents are protesting, citing concerns about the reliability of the test kits, children's resistance, and the possibility of schools enforcing the tests.

The Ministry of Education announced that in the fourth week of February, each student attending kindergarten and elementary school will be provided with two test kits per person. In March, each student from kindergarten through high school will receive nine kits per person, and school staff will receive four kits per person. When the new semester begins on March 2, it is recommended that testing be conducted twice weekly, on Sundays and Wednesdays, starting from the second week of March. Whether kits will be provided in April will be discussed based on the spread of the Omicron variant.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye explained, "All quarantine systems have shifted to a voluntary system, and although test kits are provided free of charge at schools, we recommend voluntary participation for the safety of students. Since pre-attendance testing is neither mandatory nor compulsory, students can attend school even if they do not take the test."

The Ministry of Education plans to improve the self-diagnosis app so that students can input their self-test results before attending school. Minister Yoo said, "Although we have guided testing on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, schools and local situations can operate flexibly. I do not believe that the effectiveness will decrease just because it is not mandatory."

The Ministry of Education and metropolitan/provincial education offices will support mobile PCR testing and other measures if confirmed cases occur at schools. In the event of infections within schools, test kits for students and staff identified through school investigations will be separately stockpiled at about 10% of the total population.

Parents are strongly opposing the policy, citing the low accuracy of the test kits, concerns about their safety, children's reluctance, and fairness compared to adults. There are also criticisms that relaxing restaurant and cafe operating hours to 10 p.m. while recommending tests for children attending school seems inconsistent.

A parent in Seoul said, "Some test kits state that they are not recommended for those under 18, and there are concerns that the testing solution might be harmful to children. Children follow quarantine rules better than adults, and most infections occur within families. Forcing asymptomatic children to test leads to conflicts with parents and makes children reluctant to attend school."

Another parent said, "The low accuracy of the tests makes me question their significance. It feels like a waste of tax money." A parent of an elementary school student pointed out, "If children are tested twice a week, is full attendance really necessary? It would be better to have two-thirds attendance like before than to force testing."

Regarding the option for students who fail the test at home to receive assistance at school, a Ministry of Education official said, "Since the burden on teachers could increase, we are considering using quarantine personnel to assist students who could not complete the test."

On the 9th, citizens are conducting rapid antigen tests themselves at the COVID-19 screening clinic of Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Parents believe that since government funds are being used and schools bear the burden of quarantine, pre-attendance testing will effectively be operated as if mandatory. A parent in their 40s living in Seoul said, "Although it is called a recommendation, entering test results into the self-diagnosis app is essentially mandatory. The youth vaccine was initially recommended but eventually became mandatory. It will likely become mandatory through the schools as well."

With confirmed cases exceeding 100,000 for two consecutive days on the 1st and projections that cases will surpass 180,000 in the last week of February, it seems difficult to pursue normal attendance immediately after the new semester begins.

Lee Sang-soo, Director of the School Innovation Support Office at the Ministry of Education, said, "In principle, we are supplying diagnostic kits assuming normal educational activities. We have expanded server capacity far beyond last year's peak to accommodate the possibility of switching to remote classes by school or region. We are also preparing various alternative learning methods for students who cannot attend school in close cooperation with metropolitan and provincial education offices."

From the new semester, academic operation standards will vary depending on the number of confirmed and quarantined cases per school. To maintain normal attendance as before COVID-19, the proportion of newly confirmed cases among enrolled students must not exceed 3%, and the proportion of students barred from attendance (confirmed or quarantined) must not exceed 15%. If either condition is not met, full attendance plus restrictions on (non-)curricular activities will be implemented; if both conditions are exceeded, partial attendance will be enforced. In case of a rapid increase in confirmed cases, the Ministry of Education, quarantine authorities, and education offices will consult to switch to full remote learning. Kindergarten, grades 1 and 2 of elementary school, special schools, after-school care, and small or rural schools will attend daily.

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