IN-PERSON CLASSES TO RESUME

[Anchor Lead]

Schools are getting ready to open for a new semester and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education recommended that full in-person classes take place despite level 4 social distancing measures. Educational authorities’ plan is to make all students come to school with a staggered class schedule. Meanwhile, vaccinations for high school seniors and faculty and staff were completed today.

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An elementary school in Yeongdeungpo-gu District, Seoul. Here, students of all grades have been coming to class every day since the fall semester of last year. They come to school in two groups, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, to ensure the classrooms are less crowded.

[Soundbite] Oh So-ra(Youngsin Elementary School Teacher) : "Just like in the first semester, we designed a staggered class plan for all students. It will start as soon as all the teachers are fully vaccinated."

Since the Ministry of Education allowed only two-thirds of the student body to come to school under level four social distancing measures, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education decided to recommend the staggered class schedule so that all students can come to school.

[Soundbite] Cho Hee-yeon(Superintendent, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) : "Schools can have all students come to class through various ways such as staggered class schedules and dividing students into morning and afternoon groups."

For instance, even if level four distancing measures remain in place after September 6th, first and second graders will be able to come to school every day since they will be exempted from the class density restriction. Only half of the remaining grades are allowed to come to school, but if they are divided into morning and afternoon groups – all students can take in-person classes. Vaccinations for high school seniors and faculty and staff have finally been completed. The vaccination rate for fifth and sixth graders as well as middle school faculty and staff members is expected to reach 70% by September 4th. Colleges will start face-to-face lectures in phases.

[Soundbite] Yoo Eun-hae(Minister of Education) : "Once it’s past September when the entire population would have received first doses of vaccine shots, we could start in-person classes and activities in colleges, depending on the vaccination rate."

The Ministry of Education is holding close discussions with universities to ensure that even students confirmed with COVID-19 can take entrance exams administered by individual colleges.