"Online Classes but What About Midterms?" ... The Remote Learning Dilemma

System and Class Content Preparation Insufficient, Education Authorities Neglect Preparation
Concerns Over Gaps Based on Teacher Competence... Growing Worries About Resumption of Private Education Classes

On the morning of the 30th, a teacher is conducting a remote class with students in a classroom at an elementary school in Geoyeo-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] "Rather than blindly postponing the start of school, it feels reassuring to at least conduct remote classes. But what will happen to the midterm exams scheduled soon?"

"I have two kids but only one computer, so I'm looking into buying a tablet urgently. However, once the parents leave for work, I wonder if the kids can attend classes alone, or if they'll secretly play games instead. I'm doubtful about managing that."

The nationwide start of elementary, middle, and high schools, originally scheduled for the 6th of next month, has been postponed again, and a staggered online school opening by grade has been announced, inevitably causing major confusion among students, parents, and schools. Parents generally agree that classes should start, but as seen in many universities' online semester openings, there are concerns that trial and error is inevitable.

Practical concerns about remote classes are largely divided into system aspects and class content. Both methods are being considered: one where students in the same class watch prepared videos unilaterally in a designated online space like EBS Online Class, and another where teachers conduct live classes in real time, with students attending as if they were sitting in a classroom. Both have pros and cons, leading to divided preferences.

An education official said, "In the early stages of the postponement, some of the various online servers guided by the Ministry of Education experienced overloads and crashes due to simultaneous access," adding, "There is a lack of clear standards or manuals regarding the stability of online tools, schools' communication environments, equipment support, and content copyright issues."

There are also concerns that class preparation and content will vary depending on each teacher's capability. A parent of an elementary school student said, "Even within the same school and grade, some classes had teachers calling homes two to three times a week since early March to check on children's health and home study, while our homeroom teacher only called last week to say they didn't know when school would start."

Despite having gained more than a month due to the postponement, criticism has been raised that the government's and education authorities' response was complacent and slow. A current teacher in their 30s in the metropolitan area said, "As the COVID-19 situation escalated to a serious level, it was already predictable that school openings would be delayed significantly," adding, "Yet schools only started looking for online class solutions in the latter part of last week after receiving official notices from the education office."

With the government announcing online school openings, concerns are growing that private academies and tutoring, including those specializing in internal exams, will resume. A parent in Daechi-dong with a high school senior said, "When the education office threatened to crack down on academy closures, the academies that had switched to online classes for two weeks reopened yesterday," adding, "There is anxiety that remote school classes alone won't be enough, and my child worries about falling behind other friends and feels they need to go back to the academy."