Ministry of Education Announces '2022 1st Semester Academic Operation Plan'
Academic Operations Divided into 4 Categories, Applied Based on Confirmed Cases
Normal Attendance, Full Attendance + Activity Restrictions, Partial Attendance, Full Remote
Yoo Eun-hye: "Normal Attendance Principle, Difficult to Predict March Attendance Scale"
Many Schools in Seoul Metropolitan Area Likely Unable to Hold Normal Attendance in March
If Contacts Classified by School Survey, 3 Rapid Antigen Tests over 7 Days Required
On the 7th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye is announcing the '2022 New Semester Academic Operation Plan' at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office.
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] From the new semester, schools will set the criteria and scope for in-person and remote classes. If the proportion of confirmed cases exceeds 3% of enrolled students or if confirmed and quarantined individuals exceed 15%, full in-person attendance will not be allowed. When a confirmed case occurs at school, the principal will classify contacts, and those contacts must undergo PCR or rapid antigen testing.
On the 7th, the Ministry of Education announced the "Omicron Response Plan for the 2022 First Semester for Kindergartens, Elementary, Middle, High, Special Schools, and Universities on Quarantine and Academic Operations." Until last year, the Ministry of Education uniformly set and announced school density standards, but from this year, the response will be adapted according to regional and school-specific conditions.
There are four types of academic operation methods: ▲First, normal educational activities as before COVID-19 ▲Second, full in-person attendance with restrictions on (non)curricular activities ▲Third, partial in-person classes through density adjustment ▲Fourth, full remote classes. The type of operation will be decided by the region and school.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "At the start of the semester on March 2, students who are confirmed or quarantined will be excluded from attendance, but the scale of attendance and academic operations cannot be determined prematurely. No one can say that full in-person attendance will be possible. To recover the learning loss over the past two years, it is very important to conduct normal educational activities at schools."
Attendance Criteria Changing According to Proportion of Confirmed Cases
If the proportion of confirmed cases exceeds certain criteria, normal in-person attendance becomes impossible. There are two criteria for determining the operation type: a 3% rate of newly confirmed cases among enrolled students or a 15% rate of confirmed and quarantined students (attendance suspension) within the school. If either or both conditions are met, the school can autonomously choose one of the second to fourth types. However, kindergartens, 1st and 2nd graders in elementary school, special schools, after-school care, and small or rural schools will attend daily.
The distinction between the second and third academic operation types is based on whether both the 3% confirmed case rate and 15% attendance suspension rate are met. Considering COVID-19 confirmed cases, most schools in the metropolitan area are likely to apply the second or third academic operation types from the new semester.
Ham Young-gi, Director of Curriculum Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, "When a school judges that one of the two indicators, for example, the confirmed case rate exceeds 3% or the attendance suspension rate exceeds 15%, they can choose the second type, which restricts some educational activities. When both the confirmed case rate and attendance suspension rate exceed the threshold, the third type, which involves partial remote classes and partial in-person classes, may be applied." He added, "If a school decides to conduct full remote classes, it must consult with the education office, and full remote classes will be decided through consultation among the Ministry of Education, quarantine authorities, and education offices."
Rather than uniform application, schools can autonomously adjust based on these two criteria by school level, grade, school size, and education support office characteristics. For example, in a school with 600 enrolled students, if confirmed cases reach 3% (20 students) and are concentrated in a specific grade, only that grade may restrict extracurricular activities such as club activities. Even if confirmed cases do not reach 3%, if the number of self-quarantined students exceeds 100, class activities can be restricted.
The principle is to open schools as much as possible when criteria are not met, maintaining normal attendance. A Ministry of Education official said, "Schools will be able to comprehensively review the two criteria, and criteria may be set by grade or even by class to decide on remote classes."
Measures to protect the learning rights of students suspended from attendance due to confirmed cases or close contact have also been prepared. When providing alternative classes, interactive classes such as real-time broadcasting of lessons will be expanded. Each school must establish alternative learning and remote class plans in their remote class operation plans. After-school care in kindergartens, elementary, and special schools will operate normally, and care will be provided even if partial in-person or full remote classes are implemented. After-school programs will operate normally through face-to-face or online/offline hybrid methods linked to academic operation types, but will switch to online during full remote classes.
If a Confirmed Case Occurs at School, Self-Testing... No Attendance if Household Member Is Under Home Treatment
The school quarantine system will also change in preparation for the spread of Omicron. Confirmed cases or close contacts will be suspended from attendance during self-quarantine periods. Confirmed cases must isolate for 7 days if vaccinated, and 10 days if unvaccinated. If a household member is under home treatment, the student cannot attend school during the treatment period, and if a household member is a close contact, rapid antigen tests must be taken on the day of notification and on days 6-7.
Previously, when a confirmed case occurred at school, epidemiological investigations were conducted by public health centers, but from the new semester, schools will conduct their own investigations to classify contacts. Symptomatic individuals or those with high-risk underlying conditions must obtain a principal's opinion letter and undergo PCR testing at screening clinics; if negative, they may attend school. Among contacts classified by the school's own investigation, asymptomatic individuals must perform rapid antigen tests at home, medical institutions, or screening clinics at least three times over seven days; if negative, they may attend school.
From the new semester, students must wear "health masks (KF80 or higher)" when attending school. They must also check if any household members are under home treatment through self-diagnosis. Rapid antigen tests will be conducted twice weekly for dormitory residents and sports specialty students. The cafeteria will operate with assigned seating, and classrooms will implement staggered meal times. No more than two classes can have lessons in the gymnasium simultaneously, and simultaneous use of more than the number of available toothbrushing facilities is prohibited.
The Ministry of Education will purchase and stock 6.5 million rapid antigen test kits, approximately 20% of students and staff per school, using education office budgets. Mobile PCR testing labs will be installed in city and provincial education offices, and mobile specimen collection teams will also operate. Currently, 10 city and provincial education offices have applied.
10,000 Temporary Teachers Deployed... Emergency Plans Established for Each School
To prepare for confirmed cases among staff and ensure smooth academic operations, the Ministry of Education will deploy temporary teachers up to 3.5% of the regular teaching staff in elementary and secondary schools. They will secure 672 temporary teachers for special schools and 1,200 pre-service special education teachers linked to universities. As the number of schools conducting remote classes may increase, the public learning management system servers will be expanded to secure at least 30% more capacity than the expected simultaneous users.
Schools must also establish Business Continuity Plans (BCP) by region or school in preparation for full remote classes. These plans must include core tasks and their priorities, resource acquisition methods, work methods for teachers unable to attend, and alternative plans for classes when teachers are confirmed positive. The emergency plans aim to prevent school operations from being interrupted and to set remote class criteria according to infection levels.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "After careful consideration of the characteristics of the Omicron variant and consultations with various related organizations, the Ministry of Education has focused on three areas: school field-centered academic response systems, establishment of emergency plans (BCP), and new school quarantine testing systems. We will introduce rapid antigen tests and on-site mobile rapid PCR tests, provide stable support for quarantine supplies to minimize infection risks within schools, and shift the academic operation system toward field-led responsiveness."
Universities Also Prioritize Face-to-Face Classes... Starting with Major, Experiment, Practice, Skill, and Small Classes
From the new semester, universities will prioritize face-to-face classes starting with major subjects, experiments, practice, skills, and small classes, and will expand student interaction activities outside of classes under compliance with quarantine rules. Universities will first consider methods that allow partial face-to-face classes when face-to-face is unavoidable due to educational and quarantine conditions. For example, classes requiring practice will be face-to-face, while other class days will be conducted remotely. However, junior colleges with shorter course durations and a high proportion of practical subjects may actively seek to expand face-to-face classes for courses necessary for certification and employment, as well as experiment and practice classes.
Extracurricular activities at universities will also be allowed within the scope of compliance with quarantine guidelines. The Ministry of Education encourages face-to-face implementation of programs for freshmen adaptation, communication and support programs for lower-grade students who have experienced long-term remote classes, and programs for graduating students. However, for freshmen programs, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters' guidelines on gatherings, meetings, and events must be followed, and proactive testing such as self-test kits or visits to screening clinics within the university is recommended. Student council activities are allowed even for gatherings exceeding the current private meeting limit (6 people). These must be reported to the university headquarters or college and conducted under lecture room quarantine management standards within campus spaces. Club activities can be conducted by clubs participating in programs or events hosted by the university under quarantine compliance. Individual club activities must comply with the private meeting limit (6 people).
To respond to the Omicron variant, universities must prepare quarantine supplies such as self-test kits in advance. If symptomatic individuals occur, self-testing must be conducted using university stock or by visiting screening clinics. Self-test kits should be prioritized for dormitories, arts and physical education practice rooms, and experiment/practice rooms. Enrolled students must submit a negative test certificate (such as rapid antigen test) within two days before moving into dormitories.
Universities must establish an emergency response plan, the Business Continuity Plan (BCP), to prepare for a surge in confirmed cases and share it within the campus by February. This plan designates face-to-face classes and remote transition classes in advance during emergencies, specifies research personnel attending work, and sets the scope and ratio of essential workers.
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