16% Student Absence and Non-Participation in Self-Diagnosis... Emphasis on 'Recommended' Preemptive Testing (Comprehensive)

83.7% Self-Diagnosis Participation...Kindergartens at Half Level
160,000 Students with Suspected Symptoms or Positive Results Barred from School
Parents Complain About Mandatory Preemptive Testing in Schools
Ministry of Education: "Preemptive Testing Not Mandatory, Will Communicate and Persuade Schools"
Mid-March Peak of Outbreak...Unable to Plan School Operations Two Weeks Later

Jeong Jong-cheol, Vice Minister of Education, is explaining the measures for academic operations and quarantine in response to Omicron for the new semester at the Government Sejong Complex.

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] On the first day of the new semester, 16% of students scheduled to attend school did not record symptoms on the self-diagnosis app due to absence or other reasons. In particular, the participation rate among kindergarten students was only about half. The Ministry of Education reiterated that the mandatory testing in some schools is only a 'recommendation.'

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Education announced new semester academic operation and quarantine measures in response to Omicron. As of the 2nd, the usage status of the self-diagnosis app among kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students showed a participation rate of 83.7% (4,910,973 students). By school level, participation rates were lowest in kindergarten (51.6%), followed by special schools (70.9%), high schools (84.2%), elementary schools (86.8%), and middle schools (90.5%).

Teachers Confirm Absences of Non-Participants in Self-Diagnosis... Most School Attendance Suspensions Among Elementary Students

The Ministry of Education decided that for students who do not participate in self-diagnosis, homeroom teachers will directly verify the reasons, and schools will request parents to cooperate with the symptom confirmation process on the self-diagnosis app.

Jeong Jong-cheol, Deputy Minister of Education, said, "Non-participants are ultimately absent, so homeroom teachers must directly confirm and separately verify the reasons. Although the average testing participation rate is about 87%, and the 2nd's participation rate is not considered very low, symptom confirmation procedures are necessary under the three-stage quarantine system, so we ask for active participation."

According to the self-diagnosis app usage status, among students scheduled to attend school (4,752,802), 2.69% (158,171 students) were advised to suspend attendance. Students advised to suspend attendance include those with suspected symptoms, those who themselves or their cohabitants tested positive on rapid antigen tests, or those awaiting PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test results.

Number of Students Participating in Self-Diagnosis App and Prohibited from Attending School on the First Day of the 2022 Academic Year (Source: Ministry of Education)

Among those suspended from attending school on the first day of the new semester, elementary students numbered 89,818, about 2 to 3 times more than middle school students (33,488) and high school students (26,895). Considering that elementary students outnumber middle and high school students, first and second graders are prioritized for attendance, which naturally raises parents' concerns.

Regarding this, Deputy Minister Jeong said, "The vaccination rate among adolescents is high, nearly 80% for basic vaccination, but for lower elementary grades, vaccination has not yet been administered, so the attendance suspension rate is high. Disease authorities are establishing pediatric vaccination plans, and the most important thing is to comply with basic quarantine rules. Parents must also participate."

The Ministry of Education began distributing rapid antigen test kits from the 2nd and 'recommended' testing twice a week, but many schools have notified mandatory testing, causing strong dissatisfaction among parents.

The Ministry distributed 6.06 million kits for the first week of March and will additionally provide 13 million kits from the 4th, with two kits per student and one per staff member. The third week's distribution will see an additional 13 million kits delivered to education offices between March 4 and 8.

Deputy Minister Jeong emphasized, "Testing is not legally mandatory but a recommendation. We have publicly announced the policy multiple times, and even without separate official documents, city and provincial education offices and schools must follow the Ministry of Education's standards. We will actively communicate and persuade schools on site."

Peak Expected Mid-March... Academic Operations Two Weeks Later Unpredictable

The Ministry of Education designated March 2 to 11 as a 'new semester adaptation week,' allowing flexible academic operations. School principals can decide on shortened classes, partial remote learning, or full remote learning.

Most schools have not yet finalized academic operation plans beyond the 11th. With confirmed cases surpassing 210,000 on the 2nd and the Omicron variant expected to peak in mid-March, uncertainty in academic operations has increased.

Deputy Minister Jeong said, "It is forecasted that cases may exceed 300,000 in mid-March. Our principle was to prevent educational loss through attendance during the adaptation week. However, with COVID-19 approaching its peak, we cannot insist on absolute attendance or full attendance policies."

He added, "After the peak, we will reconsider the academic operation plan with the major principle of maximizing attendance to help schools return to normal, considering the infectious disease situation."

The Ministry of Education applied a 'three-stage school quarantine system' from the new semester. Stage 1 involves preemptive testing at home using rapid antigen test kits; Stage 2 involves self-investigation of contacts when a cluster infection occurs at school; Stage 3 involves operating mobile specimen collection teams.

To prepare for cluster infections in schools, the Ministry plans to organize 256 self-investigation support teams in city and provincial education offices to assist with on-site or phone investigations and contact diagnostic testing (PCR, rapid antigen tests). Currently, 22 mobile PCR testing sites are being set up and prepared for operation across 17 cities and provinces. Each site will operate an average of three or more specimen collection teams. Test results can be confirmed within about three hours.

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