Primary school students go to school more than 3 times … Possibility of ‘front school attendance’ in areas outside the capital

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The principle of school density that is being implemented to prevent the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) will be relaxed as of 19. Regardless of metropolitan and non-capital areas, the principle of two thirds of all students applies to schools primary, intermediate and secondary schools across the country. In the lower grades of elementary school (first and second grades), the number of days to attend school may increase. The government’s decision was due to concerns about a decline in education due to long distance classes. Consequently, the quarantine measures were followed by a “progress of social distancing” and adjustments were made according to local and school conditions, thus opening the way of “full school attendance”.

○ In the non-metropolitan area, it is also possible to go to school.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Education announced a plan for academic management after the special quarantine period during Chuseok holidays at the government building in Seoul. The quarantine level in schools was adjusted to match the security and disaster countermeasures headquarters (the middle dash), effectively reducing the distance to one step. However, the Ministry of Education decided to apply this standard from the 19th with a grace period of one week to minimize confusion in the school environment.

First, the Ministry of Education made some adjustments to the ‘Academic Management Guidelines for Different Distances’. Previously, in the first stage, ‘two thirds of the density’ and ‘one third of the density’ were applied in the second stage. However, in the future, if there is no specific risk for the region or the school, the density standard can be adjusted autonomously. More flexible measures are possible in the non-metropolitan area than in the metropolitan area. Depending on the region, there are expected to be schools where all students attend school every day, as before the Corona 19 outbreak.

However, in the metropolitan area where it is necessary to continue observing Corona 19 spread, two-thirds of the density should be observed at the moment. Even in the non-metropolitan area, overcrowded schools or overcrowded schools with many students must adhere at the beginning, which makes it impossible to attend school completely. The standards vary slightly for each province, but if there are more than 30 students per class and 1,000 or more students per class, they are classified into overcrowded classes and overcrowded schools. A 36-year-old father from an elementary school in the Gyeonggi area said: “It is unfortunate that the spread pattern is different depending on the metropolitan area. I hope this will be soon “.

○ The number of schools with exceptions and concentrations increased

The Ministry of Education has also expanded the range of small schools that are excluded from the application of the density principle. Previously, only schools with fewer than 60 students were subject to an exception. Many pointed out that it was unreasonable because the density principle applied even to small schools in towns and villages that exceeded this even a little. In the future, schools with fewer than 300 students were included in the exception. If you follow the quarantine rules well, you don’t have to follow the density principle. Special schools and special classes are taught to go to school as a rule. In general, the special schools have maintained the level of density at each stage of the distance, but exceptions were allowed depending on the school or local situation. However, special classes in general schools were not allowed to be exceptions, so the Ministry of Education’s state affairs audit raised criticism of the “average measurement”. It was also noted that homeschooling for special students during distance classes was not practically easy. Consequently, as of 19, the standard was changed to make it a rule to attend school regardless of the stage of distancing from special schools and special classes.

The Education Ministry said that if the principle of density is followed, frontline schools can increase class attendance through various methods based on autonomous decision-making by school members. For example, in the morning and in the afternoon, there are two classes or division classes. An official from the Ministry of Education explained: “Because the introduction of morning and afternoon classes is possible when the will of the teachers is supported, it is difficult for the government to enforce this immediately.”

Additional staff are also assigned to ensure a smooth quarantine while relaxed standards are applied. The Ministry of Education announced that it would support schools by increasing to 10,000 people in addition to the 37,000 existing people for quarantine.

At the school site, there is an atmosphere that is generally sympathetic to the plan to expand school classes. However, some voices of concern are also emerging. Im, a 45-year-old father, said: “I think it is dangerous to apply the standard flexibly without strengthening the quarantine.” In addition to simply expanding classes to the school, there are also opinions that efforts to improve the ‘blended class’ that are both offline and online are necessary.

Deputy Prime Minister of Social Affairs and Education Yu Eun-hye said in a briefing on the day that “the school and the Bureau of Education can decide how to attend school in various ways, so that it is possible to go to school. I ask you to be careful. “

Reporter Kim Soo-yeon [email protected] Lim Woo-sun