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| A student waves bye to his parents before class in an elementary school in Gwangju, Sept. 14. The school reopened previously providing online classes amid fears over the continuing spread of COVID-19. Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
More than 7,000 kindergartens, and elementary, middle and high schools in the Seoul metropolitan area will resume in-person classes, Monday, in line with a recent slowdown in COVID-19 infections, according to the Ministry of Education, Sunday. It has been almost a month since the schools began online-only education following the Aug. 26 resurgence of the contagious virus.
Quarantine measures on schools were originally scheduled to end Sept. 11, but were extended until Sept. 20 as the spread of the coronavirus showed no sign of abating.
The decision made by the education ministry last week follows the slow relaxing of social distancing measures in Seoul amid a recent drop in new COVID-19 cases and deepening concerns over economic damage.
According to ministry data, the 7,000 schools, including 2,000 in Seoul, 800 in Incheon, west of Seoul, and 4,200 in Gyeonggi Province, account for about 40 percent of the nation's total of 27,740 schools.
The implementation of safety measures will be tested as they are reopening their doors 10 days before the Chuseok holiday that starts Sept. 30.
The ministry said schools resuming in-person classes are required to observe attendance limits ― one-third of capacity at kindergartens, elementary and middle schools, and two-thirds at high schools ― to guarantee social distancing in classrooms.
High school seniors will begin a blended approach of online and in-person learning from Monday, as they are wrapping up the regular academic schedule and are now preparing for the national university entrance exam slated for December. Schools are allowed to decide what form of instruction they will offer for high school seniors, the ministry said.
Some parents and educators said regular classes cannot be delayed any longer as the prolonged period of remote teaching has only exacerbated the problems of poor basic education, educational gaps between students, and childcare. However, there is little agreement between those who are worried about the possibility of COVID-19 infections and those who cannot afford to postpone the start of in-person classes until the end of the pandemic.
Choi Ji-hyun, A 40-year-old mother of two children attending a private elementary school in Mokdong, Seoul, said "It is hard to think that the online classes were effective compared to in-person classes, even though most of my children's classes were conducted in two-way interactive sessions."
"Given that high school seniors are physically attending school every day, I hope the number of in-person classes for other students will also gradually increase."
Another mother of a third-grade elementary school student in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, who wished to be identified only by her surname Ahn, said "Mothers in my neighborhood are still anxious about children returning to school as there have been many confirmed COVID-19 cases in the metropolitan area."
"But I think we have no choice but to send the children back to school. It has been too long for them to stay home."
In response to the parents' concerns over widening educational gaps among children, the education ministry said it will help schools offer more personalized teaching to students in cooperation with regional education offices.
