Academic Operation Guidelines Revised to Align with Social Distancing Restructuring
On the morning of the 2nd, students at Poi Elementary School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are sanitizing their hands as they attend school on the first day of the new semester. Photo by Joint Press Corps
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education plans to implement full in-person attendance for all grades in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools starting from the second semester.
On the 12th, a Ministry of Education official stated, "Once the revised COVID-19 social distancing guidelines are prepared in July, they will be applied from the second semester, and in connection with these revisions, we will strive to promote full in-person attendance in the second semester."
As the quarantine authorities decided to apply the modified social distancing system from July, the academic operation guidelines will be revised and applied starting in September.
The Ministry of Education is interpreted to be promoting expanded attendance due to concerns about COVID-19-related learning gaps and psychological development issues. Currently, only grades 1 and 2 in elementary school and grade 12 in high school attend school daily, and these grades are exempt from classroom density restrictions. Other grades attend school alternately according to the attendance density guidelines.
A Ministry of Education official said, "We will discuss specifically how to apply the revised social distancing measures and whether to supplement quarantine measures."
There is also a judgment that full in-person attendance will not pose significant difficulties once vaccination for school staff is completed by the summer vacation. Since announcing the academic operation policy in March, the Ministry of Education has maintained its stance that in-person attendance should be expanded.
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