Confusion as Schools Starting Early August Lack Attendance Policy
Attendance Decisions Vary Across Provincial Offices of Education
Korea Teachers' Union: "Need Stepwise Guidance on Full Attendance for Second Semester"
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations urged the education authorities to finalize clear guidelines on school attendance as confusion is inevitable with each metropolitan and provincial office of education differing on whether to implement full in-person attendance ahead of the second semester opening.
On the 27th, the Federation stated, "Some schools are already preparing to start in early August, so clear guidelines on whether to have full attendance in the second semester and the scale of attendance according to social distancing levels must be communicated as soon as possible through official documents in advance." They added, "At the very least, clear and specific attendance guidelines should be finalized and provided to frontline schools at least one week prior."
So far, the Ministry of Education has not withdrawn its policy on full attendance for the second semester. Starting from the second semester, the Ministry has changed the school density criteria, allowing up to two-thirds attendance under social distancing level 3. In a briefing on the 26th, the Ministry acknowledged, "We recognize the infectious disease situation as very serious," but maintained a cautious stance, saying, "We are thoroughly monitoring the situation with health authorities and will share our position after gathering opinions."
The Federation demanded an expansion of care personnel as teachers’ difficulties have increased due to emergency care following the shift to remote classes. In some metropolitan areas like Gyeonggi, emergency care personnel are recruited by each school on a volunteer basis, but the volunteer fee is set at 5,000 won per hour, making it difficult to secure staff.
The Federation emphasized, "In elementary schools during remote classes, the biggest hardship is teachers having to take care of emergency care students," and urged, "Education offices should no longer neglect the reality where teachers must conduct remote classes in the classroom while also looking after emergency care students."
They pointed out, "Emergency care is said not to be the responsibility of school care specialists, and even when teachers try to find substitutes, no one is willing to come for the meager allowance," adding, "Despite the education budget being abundant and the number of education office personnel and education public officials increasing exponentially, why are teachers still being assigned to care duties and suffering from care-related work?"
Ha Yun-su, president of the Federation, called for, "Instead of spending money on education superintendent projects or populist policies, budgets should be invested first in securing sufficient emergency care personnel and supporting quarantine personnel and supplies so that teachers can focus on teaching."
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