Confirmed and quarantined students treated as 'attendance-recognized absences'... Youth quarantine pass temporarily suspended

Ministry of Education Establishes Attendance Guidelines for Students Under School Attendance Suspension
Improves Self-Diagnosis App Features for Test Confirmation and Date Recording
Unvaccinated Close Contacts to Isolate for 7 Days Until April 13
Decision to Suspend Youth Quarantine Pass Planned for April 1 Implementation

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Students who are confirmed positive or in quarantine due to COVID-19 will be treated as 'attendance-recognized absences.' The youth-targeted vaccine pass, which was scheduled to be implemented from April 1, will also be suspended.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Education announced that, according to the School Health Act and the school infection prevention management guidelines, it has established a 'Guideline for Attendance of Students Prohibited from Attending School,' stating that students prohibited from attending school will be treated as attendance-recognized absences.

If students prohibited from attending school participate in remote classes at the class level or higher, it will be counted as attendance. However, completion of alternative learning will not be linked to attendance processing.

During evaluation periods such as midterm and final exams, recognized points for absences will only be granted if students submit medical institution test results or medical certificates for verification.

From March 14 onward, even if a student’s cohabitant tests positive, the student will be allowed to attend school as a passive monitor regardless of vaccination status. Until the 13th, under existing school quarantine guidelines, only vaccinated students could attend school as passive monitors if a cohabitant tested positive, while unvaccinated students were prohibited from attending school for seven days.

The Ministry of Education recommended that passive monitors from March 14 receive a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test within three days based on the cohabitant’s test date, and a rapid antigen test on days 6 to 7. In particular, attendance must be suspended until the PCR test result is confirmed within the initial three days.

As the number of students unable to attend school due to COVID-19 increases, administrative workload will be simplified to reduce the burden. Schools will verify students’ attendance-related supporting documents, record the verification details on the 'Attendance Supporting Document Substitute Form,' and keep it on file without separately creating or storing the supporting documents in a binder.

From the 28th, the Ministry of Education improved the self-diagnosis app to allow students to check their health status before attending school. After a rapid antigen test, students can respond with ▲Not Tested ▲Negative ▲Positive.

Regarding whether schools can compel students to take tests if they check 'Not Tested,' a Ministry of Education official explained, "Self-diagnosis testing is voluntary, and there will be no individual contact just because 'Not Tested' is selected in the self-diagnosis app."

The Ministry of Education designated the two weeks from March 2 to 11 as the 'New Semester Adaptation Week,' allowing schools to flexibly operate academic affairs through shortened classes, density adjustments, or remote classes.

Regarding confusion caused by different attendance methods at each school, a Ministry of Education official said, "Academic operation plans should be tailored to regional circumstances. It is inappropriate for the Ministry of Education to set uniform rules. We intend to trust the leadership of superintendents and school principals. Full attendance is also possible if decided at the education office or school level."

The Ministry of Education is not considering unifying academic operations as before despite confusion over attendance criteria in the field. A Ministry of Education official stated, "There are no plans to issue uniform guidelines. There is no nationwide standard for switching to remote classes."

A Ministry of Education official said, "It is more appropriate for superintendents, education support offices, and school principals to respond to regional situations rather than the Ministry issuing guidelines. We intend to trust the leadership of superintendents and school principals. Full attendance is also possible if decided by the education office or school."

As of the 28th, two days before the new semester attendance begins, the Ministry of Education has not yet compiled the academic operation status by school. Regarding this, a Ministry of Education official said, "We plan to provide attendance status data weekly every Monday, but the attendance status for March 2 will be collected and shared the following week."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced the complete suspension of the vaccine pass for 11 facilities including restaurants and cafes. The youth vaccine pass, originally scheduled to be applied from April 1 to academies, reading rooms, and study cafes, will also be temporarily suspended.

Regarding this, a Ministry of Education official said, "Since the overall suspension of the vaccine pass was announced, the decision will be made before April along with the general public vaccine pass."

Regarding the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s plan to introduce saliva specimen rapid PCR tests for kindergartens and elementary schools, the Ministry of Education said, "If approval is obtained from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, we will also approve it. We considered providing it to kindergarten and lower-grade elementary students, but gave up due to lack of approval and will consider introduction in the future."

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