In this file photo, a sign says no outsiders are allowed to enter at an elementary school in Seoul on Aug. 9, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Education said Wednesday billions of dollars will be spent in the second half to help students make up for COVID-19-related learning loss.
The ministry and 17 Offices of Education around the country made the decision during the first meeting of the Education Recovery and Support Committee.
The ministry said a total of 5.3 trillion won (US$45.5 billion) will be spent to deal with the learning deficit of young students amid the prolonged pandemic and to improve school infrastructure for future pandemics.
The education offices will cover most of the spending while the ministry will support a fraction of 263 billion won.
Of the total, 2.7 trillion won will be spent on improving school environments for future education, followed by 1.58 trillion on offering extra classes to narrow the educational gap and support programs for students’ mental health, and reducing classroom crowding.
More than 800 billion won will be used to disinfect schools and support after-school care programs.
The ministry said it will continue what it calls a plan for a comprehensive education recovery project until February to fill in learning, psychological and social deficits facing many students.
The ministry also plans to alleviate classroom crowding in 1,155 schools nationwide in the second half.
Packed classrooms with more than 30 students each are seen as one of the major obstacles to the ministry’s plan to expand in-person classes. Building portable, modular classrooms is one way to do that, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, 1,374, or 11.5 percent, of the total 11,942 schools nationwide have at least one or more classes with more than 30 students.
Middle schools took up the largest number at 812, followed by elementary schools at 350 and high schools at 212.
(Yonhap)
