3 Out of 100 Students Barred from Attending School in New Semester... 4 More Days of Test Kits Distributed

Self-Diagnosis App Participation Rate 83.7%, School Attendance Suspension 2.69%
Two Test Kits Provided Per Student for 2nd Week of March
Over 60,000 School Quarantine Support Staff Hired... Completion by End of This Month
1,303 Additional Health Teachers Hired, 1,780 Support Staff Deployed

As the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant continues, children are heading to school on the morning of the 2nd, when elementary, middle, and high schools reopened, at Geumyang Elementary School in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] On the first day of the new semester in March, it was found that 3 out of 100 students were either showing suspicious symptoms or had tested positive, and were advised to refrain from attending school.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Education investigated the usage status of the self-diagnosis app for kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students as of the 2nd. Among the students eligible to attend school (4,752,802 students), 2.69% (158,171 students) were advised to refrain from attending school. The participation rate in the self-diagnosis app was 83.7% (4,910,973 students).

Students who were advised to refrain from attending school either showed suspicious symptoms, or themselves or their cohabitants tested positive on rapid antigen tests, or were awaiting PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test results.

The Ministry of Education distributed 6.06 million test kits for the first week of March and will provide an additional 13 million kits starting from the 4th of March, with 2 kits per student and 1 kit per staff member. The third week’s supply of kits will be additionally delivered to education offices from March 4th to 8th, totaling 13 million kits.

During the two-week "new semester adaptation period" after school starts, considering school size, quarantine conditions, and local infection situations, simple meals such as rice bowls or noodles that reduce mealtime, or alternative meals like sandwiches and bread are being provided.

To prepare for cluster infections within schools, the Ministry of Education plans to organize 256 self-investigation support teams in metropolitan and provincial education offices to assist with self-investigations and contact diagnostic tests (PCR, rapid antigen tests) via visits or phone calls. Three mobile specimen collection teams will operate per testing site, visiting schools or allowing students to visit the specimen collection team locations for testing.

To support school quarantine personnel, 61,548 out of 73,056 positions have been filled, with recruitment expected to be completed by the end of this month. Dedicated quarantine personnel will be responsible for temperature checks upon school entry, disinfecting vulnerable facilities, managing outsiders, and supervising during meal times. Collaboration with the University Education Council and the Junior College Education Council is underway to support quarantine personnel with nursing and health-related university students.

To support overcrowded schools struggling with the Omicron variant, 8,900 temporary teachers will be hired and deployed to schools within this month. In schools without health teachers or overcrowded schools, temporary health teachers beyond the quota have been temporarily allowed, hiring 1,303 personnel, and 1,780 additional health teachers have been assigned to large-scale schools.

The pool of substitute personnel for emergency situations will also be expanded. Education offices and schools will organize substitute personnel pools, and in regions where schools have difficulty securing substitutes, education support offices will operate dedicated temporary teachers and instructors for substitute teaching. Personnel will be managed according to substitute personnel operation plans established by each school. In the case of Jeju Education Office, emergency response teams have been formed with education professionals and teachers who have entered the learning research year.

The Ministry of Education has also prepared policies to support kindergarten academic operations and quarantine for the new semester. Guidelines for kindergarten attendance classes and remote classes will be distributed, along with educational content for teachers and young children that can be used in the field. When full remote classes are conducted or remote classes are combined, care will be provided for young children in dual-income families or those needing care.

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