Ministry of Education "Gathering 10,000 Elementary and Secondary School Teachers Nationwide to Support Remote Class Establishment"

April Designated as the Month of Focused Remote Classes
Purchase Smart Devices First, Then Handle Administrative Procedures

10,000 Representatives Including Teachers from 17 Cities and Provinces Gather
Online Appointment Ceremony Held

On the 30th of last month, just before the government was about to announce its stance on the opening of elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, a classroom at Yeongpung Elementary School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was empty. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Ministry of Education has designated April as the "Month of Focused Remote Classes" and is operating the "10,000 Community" to support on-site teachers.

On the 6th, the Ministry of Education announced that it will hold an online appointment ceremony for the 10,000 Community, which consists of representative teachers from schools in 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, the Ministry of Education, and metropolitan and provincial offices of education, to support the establishment of remote classes in schools.

The appointment ceremony, held in the form of an online meeting, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, Park Hye-ja, President of the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS), and 17 teacher representatives from the 10,000 Community.

The 10,000 Community symbolically includes one participant from each of the approximately 11,000 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide. As of the 3rd, the current membership stands at 8,946. This community plans to identify issues that may arise during the implementation of remote classes based on teachers' autonomous online communication and use collective intelligence to resolve them.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education, education offices, KERIS, and the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) will directly communicate to promote policies related to remote classes. The Ministry plans to support this activity so that it can continuously produce educational innovators.

The Ministry of Education will continue to create practical support conditions that allow teachers to focus on remote classes and operate them effectively by enabling them to purchase smart devices first and then handle administrative tasks to secure budgets when renting such devices. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "I ask the 10,000 Community to become a real-time communication channel that solves the concerns of on-site teachers and help ensure that remote classes, which are unfamiliar to all of us, can be established early."