South Korea puts off school opening again, goes online
Authorities have postponed the beginning of the school semester three times from early March to April 6, and have decided to do so again, given the persistence of the outbreak….
Schools will launch online classes from April 9, Chung said, promising to ensure students’ access to technology at home to minimize academic disruption. The highly competitive annual college entrance exam will be postponed by two weeks to Dec. 3, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said.
COVID-19 forces universities to shift to remote learning, but glitches abound
Universities across South Korea have temporarily shifted to remote learning on short notice due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Professors have been informed to conduct distance teaching -- at least -- through the end of March. Students are slowly adapting to online classes after colleges officially started on March 16.
Coronavirus fails to dampen South Korea's fever for exam success
The government has urged people to stay at home, and maintain social distancing, but none of this has dented the enthusiasm for cram schools, part of a US$17 billion dollar private tuition industry that Koreans believe sets students up for a placement at an elite university, and life-long success. Data from the Seoul government showed that nine out of 10 of these schools were open last week, an increase from mid-March, when 60 per cent were running… Every November, at least half a million students sit for the exam, and it is this competition that makes it very difficult for parents to give up on tuition. This year, the university exam is set for Nov. 19, but the government is expected to delay it because of the virus outbreak.
S Korea blazes trail in Covid-19 era cyber schooling
Universities are already weeks into online teaching…As a result, pressure is building against university fees, with some students already demanding refunds. “There is going to be a reckoning as students are complaining with good reason: A lot of professors can’t convert,” Hurt said. “If you are a 62-year-old professor doing things a certain way for 25 years, converting to online is challenging at best, impossible at worst. Expecting to maintain reasonable quality is a big expectation.” Another issue is professors making themselves dispensible. “If I put my content online and structure it in a way that you don’t need me – well, you don’t need me!” said Hurt, who said he was not uploading to YouTube. “Am I going to be paid for use of my content? This is a major complaint I hear from colleagues in Korea and everywhere else.”
South Korea goes back to school, but classrooms remain empty
Last week, schools began to reopen, five weeks later than scheduled. But classes for all government schools will now be conducted virtually, starting with the oldest students…South Korea is integrating its students into online teaching on a complicated schedule, based on age. The oldest children started classes a week ago, and others start on Thursday (April 16).
I Live in South Korea. Here Is What a 'Limited' Reopening from Coronavirus Looks Like.
…Schools have also been given leeway to reopen, although the implementation of that varies widely. For example, my son’s kindergarten has re-opened almost completely; my daughter’s elementary school is closed completely, and my university is open for staff and required exams.
Nations credited with fast response to coronavirus are moving to gradually reopen businesses
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced Sunday that while the social distancing policy will be extended for 16 more days, guidelines will be eased…“Now that online classes and work from home have become a new normal, we have the room to consider balancing infection control and economic activities,” Chung said at a governmental meeting Monday. Schools remain shut as classes have gone online, while employees at many businesses still work remotely.
S. Korea struggles with unprecedented online learning
Faced with the novel coronavirus epidemic, South Korea’s schools began offering online classes this month in a step the education minister called a “new road we have never walked.”
Distance learning, however, poses an unprecedented burden to parents and educators, with the quality of education for each student appearing to be closely linked to the level of preparedness of the schools, teachers and parents -- from teachers’ digital literacy to parents’ availability for their children.