Monday, 19 October 2020 (YJC) _ students take more in person classes as The Ministry of Education eased social distancing rules.
The Ministry of Education's expansion of in-person classes at schools went into effect Monday amid a growing concern over a widening learning gap and a recent drop in new coronavirus cases.
The ministry raised the attendance cap, previously at one-third for elementary and middle schools, and two-thirds at high schools, to two-thirds for all schools on Oct. 11, in line with the government's decision to relax social distancing guidelines nationwide.
The ministry said schools in the greater Seoul area, where half of the country's 51 million people live, are required to strictly follow the new mandate, while those in the rest of the country will have more leeway to adjust attendance caps depending on the seriousness of the pandemic.
Loosening antivirus restrictions for schools reflects a growing concern among educators and parents that a learning gap has been widening due to differences both in each child's self-directed learning capabilities and home learning environments. Working parents have been complaining that it is challenging to juggle between working and supervising children during online classes.
To reduce classroom crowding and serve more students at the same time, schools are expected to implement various measures, including staggered classes and split sessions between the morning and afternoon.
School safety, however, remains a nagging issue.
Some parents called for an all-out expansion of in-person learning regardless of the school year, citing worsening learning gaps and deficiencies coming from remote schooling.
Source: Yonhap
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