Full Return to School for Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and High Schools from May... School Trips Also Resume

Post-Corona School Daily Life Recovery Plan Announced
School Trips Decided by Education Office and Schools After Gathering Opinions
Attendance of Confirmed Students and Final Exams to Be Reviewed and Announced in May
Active Recommendation for In-Person University Classes, MT Also Eased with Notification

From May, normal attendance will be implemented nationwide in kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools. The standards for overnight programs such as school trips, experiential learning, and university students' MT (Membership Training) will also be significantly relaxed. Whether confirmed cases can attend school or take final exams will be determined based on the lifting of quarantine obligations.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Education announced the post-Omicron school daily life recovery plan. Flexible academic operations will be maintained until the end of this month, but from May, normal attendance, curricular and extracurricular activities, after-school programs, and childcare will operate normally. In kindergartens, outdoor play and physical activities will be possible, and in schools, various classes such as group activities, discussions, and mobile classes will be available.

Students confirmed with COVID-19 must refrain from attending school for 7 days until May 22. School-led investigations will also be suspended, but if a confirmed case appears in the same class, high-risk students with underlying conditions and symptomatic individuals must take a rapid antigen test within 24 hours. The indoor mask-wearing mandate will remain, and masks that block droplets other than health masks (KF80 or higher) will also be allowed. Home study, which has been permitted for about 57 days until the end of this month, will be maintained, but from May, regional and school conditions will allow metropolitan and provincial offices of education to decide autonomously.

School trips, which were suspended for three years, will also resume. Decisions will be made by the education office and schools after deliberation by the school operation committee and parental consent. In addition, small-scale experiential activities at the class or grade level and internal and external events will be possible. However, if infectious diseases re-spread, metropolitan and provincial offices of education may set standards to allow flexible academic operations at the class or grade level.

Whether confirmed students can attend school or take final exams will be reconsidered if the quarantine obligation for confirmed cases is lifted after May 23 when the health authorities ease the infectious disease stage. A Ministry of Education official stated, "We are reviewing this from both the perspectives of infection control and the guarantee of learning rights, and if it changes to a recommendation, we will devise measures to protect learning rights."

The Ministry of Education recommended that universities actively consider face-to-face classes from May. However, if a significant number of students require remote learning, hybrid classes (remote + face-to-face) are also possible. When changing the class format, the opinions of students with difficulties such as long-distance commuting or health issues must be collected.

From May, standards related to university festivals and MT will also be significantly relaxed. Previously, approval was required for overnight events, but from May, it will be possible after reporting to the head of the unit or department chair, provided that faculty members accompany the event. As long as mask-wearing standards are followed, on-campus events can be held, and student council activities will be allowed without prior reporting. If university students or faculty members are confirmed cases, the quarantine obligation will change to a "recommendation" after May 23, and the revised quarantine guidelines will apply.

A Ministry of Education official explained, "Overnight programs are allowed but must go through an opinion collection process. University festivals and MTs will maintain existing standards until the end of April, but from May, restrictions will be relaxed to allow them after reporting, with strict compliance to quarantine rules."

The Ministry of Education plans to continue supplementary classes and university student tutoring to support student educational recovery and will conduct a policy performance analysis related to resolving educational deficits and gaps in the second half of this year. Guidelines for attendance, evaluation, and records related to school attendance following the transition to quarantine recommendations for confirmed cases will also be provided in May.