Many teachers lament lack of personal interaction and are not fully adept with use of digital tools.
Two months ago, people in South Korea was in a state of panic over the coronavirus, buying face masks by the dozen, deliveries from online marketplaces surged and the streets were mostly 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.
“I have been thinking about whether the government can come up with a better solution than this, but this feels like the best choice for now,” said Jang Eun-ki, an 18-year-old student at Wonjong high school. “It feels like it was an inevitable decision to take classes online.”
In some ways, South Korea’s back-to-school move for its more than one billion students will be a test case for the rest of the world.
In some corners of the globe, school closures have sparked a fierce debate about whether pupils should repeat the academic year or continue distance learning.
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).
The youngest will only resume studies on April 20, while kindergartens and daycare centres will remain suspended indefinitely.
South Korea is the most wired country in the world as nine out of 10 people owned a smartphone in 2018.
South Korea’s Ministry of Education estimates that some 170,000 students lack access to smart devices.
South Korea’s teachers, parents and the highly-educated student population are concerned about the unprecedented move to online learning.
Teachers in public and private schools are worried whether the switch to virtual learning is being rushed out as teachers have not been properly trained.
Source: AP/Kelly Kasulis
