[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education is supporting school sites to ensure stable academic operations based on a thorough quarantine system for the new 2023 school semester.
Acting Superintendent Choi Seong-bu visited Sinjeong Elementary School and Sinjeong High School in Nam-gu, Ulsan on the 23rd to inspect quarantine and curriculum preparation status and to hear opinions from the school sites.
With the easing of quarantine guidelines, fever checks at school entry will be abolished for the new semester and can be conducted voluntarily depending on the school infection situation.
Partitions in school cafeterias can also be installed voluntarily considering the infection situation and quarantine conditions. Accordingly, schools are instructed to strengthen meal guidance such as opening cafeteria windows during meal times, refraining from conversation, and hand sanitization before meals.
As indoor mask-wearing has changed from mandatory to recommended, mask use within schools can be decided voluntarily. However, masks must be worn mandatorily inside school transportation vehicles and vehicles used for experiential learning or school trips.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education will operate a special school quarantine support period for one week before the semester starts and two weeks after the semester begins to support school quarantine responses.
About 1,300 school quarantine volunteers will be supported to assist with disinfection of student facilities such as cafeterias and health rooms, and to guide and instruct preventive measures within schools to support educational activities.
The new semester academic schedule is based on normal attendance as a principle, aiming to operate curricular and extracurricular activities stably. If the COVID-19 infectious disease situation worsens again, schools will flexibly operate academic schedules by grade or class units according to their own standards.
After-school programs and elementary after-school care classrooms will also operate normally in connection with the academic schedule.
Annual off-campus experiential learning can be used within the allowed days set by school regulations, and in case of major issues such as a surge in COVID-19 confirmed cases, the school principal may permit up to 38 days for elementary students and 20 days total (10 days per semester) for middle and high school students as home study days.
Students who have difficulty attending school due to COVID-19 confirmation will be supported with alternative learning such as real-time interactive classes to protect their right to learn, and customized programs will be provided to minimize psychological, emotional, and learning deficits after self-quarantine.
Additionally, customized integrated support will be strengthened for vulnerable students who may face greater difficulties during infectious disease crises.
Acting Superintendent Choi Seong-bu said, “We are carefully inspecting and supplementing quarantine systems at each school to support the normal operation of educational activities from the new semester,” and added, “We will devote all our efforts so that students can dream bigger in a safe environment.”
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