Because of the coronavirus, students have been living daily patterns similar to a school vacation for the past two months. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 22 (Korea Bizwire) — All elementary, middle, and high schools in South Korea began the school year online Tuesday after a series of delays resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.
Parents have expressed worry about the impact of the two-month break on their children’s education.
The Korea Education and Research Information Service, a public institution under the Ministry of Education, conducted an online survey of 55,380 parents and 39,244 students, revealing their concerns about education.
The survey compared how students typically spent each day during the school year, on vacation, and during the period of delay caused by the coronavirus.
The research team divided daily student activities into four major groups: studying, sleeping, resting, and engaging in productive activities.
During the normal school year, students spent 9 hours studying, 8.1 hours sleeping, 3.2 hours resting, and 1.9 hours doing productive activities.
In contrast, students staying home due to the coronavirus spent 4.4 hours studying, 9.1 hours sleeping, 4.9 hours resting, and 2.4 hours doing productive activities.
The data showed that studying hours plunged by more than half compared to the normal school year, while sleeping, resting, and productive activities each increased by 1 or 2 hours.
Daily activities among students during the delay were similar to those during school vacation periods.
During school vacations, students spent 4.5 hours studying, 9 hours sleeping, 4.6 hours resting, and 2.5 hours engaging in productive activities.
If this year’s school year had begun without any delay, students would have been following the normal daily patterns of a school year.
Because of the coronavirus, however, students have been living daily patterns similar to a school vacation for the past two months.
Twin sisters Park Ha-neul and Park Ga-eul, who are both seniors at middle schools, take online classes at their home in the western Seoul ward of Yangcheon on April 9, 2020. (Yonhap)
Students also spent less hours studying at private institutes.
Students spent 1.6 hours per day at private educational institutes during the normal school year and 1.8 hours during school vacations. During the delay, however, they spent only 1.1 hours at these institutes.
This is most likely due to the fact that many private institutes were closed in March and April due to the coronavirus spread.
Instead of private institutes, students spent slightly more time studying at home using digital devices.
Students spent 0.8 hours studying with a digital device during the normal school year and 1.2 hours during school vacations. During the delay, they spent 1.7 hours on digital devices every day.
“We have enough school materials, but we just don’t know which ones to begin with,” parents said, when asked about their thoughts on school delays.
“We wish that the Ministry of Education would offer quality courses nationwide so that all students can study based on the same timetable.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
