Although the Attendance Rate Is 89%... Frequent Emergency Dismissals and Home Study

Confirmed cases continue to emerge in the class
Remote classes not provided after emergency dismissal
Confusion remains over attendance guidelines after family members test positive

On the 16th, students are lining up to receive on-site mobile PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests for COVID-19 response at Inheon Middle School in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Although the proportion of schools with in-person attendance has increased to 89%, parents frequently choose emergency dismissal before lunch or home study as COVID-19 cases continue to emerge in classrooms.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 28th, as of the 21st, the proportion of students attending school was 84.7%, and 89.5% of schools conducted fully remote classes. In the metropolitan area, the proportion of schools with full in-person attendance remains at around 83%.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education reported that the total number of confirmed student cases from the 19th to the 24th was 59,805, averaging 9,967 cases per day. This is a slight increase compared to 9,149 cases from the 14th to the 20th. Although the attendance rate appears high on indicators, the number of students who leave early without completing classes or switch to home study is not counted. In-person classes continue as long as confirmed cases do not exceed 15% of the class.

When a confirmed case appears in a class during in-person classes, schools guide emergency dismissal during the 3rd or 4th period before lunch. However, many schools do not provide remote classes for afternoon sessions held after lunch.

A parent of an elementary school student living in Seoul said, "When emergency dismissal happens, classes only run until the 3rd period, but there was no guidance on how the 4th and 5th period classes would be handled," adding, "I worry that if my child keeps missing afternoon classes, they might not adapt well at the beginning of the semester."

Another parent said, "In a class of about 20 students, confirmed cases keep appearing one after another every day, and I worry that everyone might eventually get infected," and added, "Even if I apply for experiential learning (home study), I feel lost about how long I have to keep my child studying at home."

It has been two weeks since the guidelines changed in mid-March to allow students to attend school under passive monitoring if they test negative through rapid antigen tests even if a family member is confirmed positive, but confusion remains. The possibility of family transmission is left to individual judgment regarding attendance before confirmation. A parent with a kindergarten child said, "I was shocked to see that while the parent was working from home due to being confirmed positive, the child was still attending the workplace daycare."

When a homeroom teacher cannot come to school due to confirmation or other reasons in attending classes, schools conduct substitute classes using part-time instructors or substitute teachers within the school, and if that is also difficult, classes are conducted remotely. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education even deployed affiliated supervisors and education specialists for early childhood, elementary, middle, and special education as substitute instructors.

The Ministry of Education will maintain flexible academic operations by school in April and continue twice-weekly proactive testing until mid-April. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye tested positive in a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test the day before and will be quarantined for a week until April 2.

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