Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Parents skeptical about effectiveness of school reopening
Students wearing masks attend a class while keeping distance from each other at Chuncheon Middle School in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Monday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
Many parents are questioning the effectiveness of sending their children to school as most students are only required to attend once or twice a week, a measure taken by schools to avoid overcrowding in classrooms amid lingering fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The system in which students go to school in shifts in order to maintain social distancing was suggested by the education ministry and health authorities. The only exception is high school and middle school seniors, who attend school daily.
Criticism is growing among parents who are questioning whether it is worth sending their children to school when they are at risk of coronavirus infection.
“For the first day, I sent my son to school to get familiar with his friends and teachers. Now he has to go to school once a week, and I'm not sure if it's worth it for him,” said a 39-year-old father of a first grade elementary school student in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, identified only by his surname Seo.
On Monday, about 1.35 million more students ― those in the first grade of middle school and the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school ― went back to their classrooms in the final round of the government's four-phased reopening plan, which meant all 5.95 million students below the higher education level were expected to return to school.
However, only one- to two-thirds of them actually attended classes. According to data from the Ministry of Education, 517 schools, or 2.5 percent of the country's 20,902, had closed as a precautionary measure, as of 10 a.m. Monday.
The actual number of students attending physically can be reduced if they apply for a home schooling program. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) allowed students to apply for up to 34 days of home schooling this year. Students do not have to go to school throughout the first semester if they apply for the program.
"My husband and I decided to send my daughter to school because everyone in this neighborhood seems to do so, but if the virus situation gets any worse, we will apply for home schooling immediately," said Hong Eun-hee, a mother of an elementary school first-grader in Nowon-gu, Seoul.
Against the backdrop of persisting concerns over the virus situation, some students and teachers have complained of anxiety and fatigue over switching between remote learning and physical attendance. A high school teacher in Seoul said, “It is confusing for students who have to focus on preparing for college entrance exams which are scheduled in December, and it is quite exhausting for teachers who have to prepare for different types of classes at the same time.”
She added, “We don't know if it can be handled well if we have to repeat this throughout the semester under the COVID-19 situation.”
Meanwhile, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said the education offices, schools and health authorities are connected through hotlines to ensure a fast response to handle any emergency.
“We are all aware of how parents and teachers are concerned about potential outbreaks at schools,” Yoo said.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country reported 38 new cases, including 35 local infections, Monday, raising the country's total to 11,852. Two were detected as local infection cases in the Seoul metropolitan area. The virus cases in the capital area accounted for nearly 97 percent of the 313 locally transmitted infections reported since June 1, the KCDC said.