A teacher conducts an online class from an elementary school classroom in Yongin, south of Seoul, on Aug. 19, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul residents believe that the educational gap between students has been widening during COVID-19 pandemic.
The Seoul Office of Education announced new policy recommendations on Tuesday. The recommendations were developed based on an online survey on 307 citizens in Seoul including students, parents, and teachers.
One hundred citizens participated in a survey on the issue of closing the educational gap, 96 percent of whom blamed the coronavirus for the widening educational gap.
As for the reason, 61.5 percent pointed to the different levels of interest in education among individuals and parents, followed by differences in private education (51 percent), and financial differences (47.9 percent).
As for resolving the educational gap, 34 percent of respondents called upon the need to strengthen public education.
In another survey on school access, with 103 respondents, 73.8 percent said both online and offline classes should continue simultaneously as the coronavirus drags on.
Another 25.2 percent of respondents called on the government to design a new offline education system tailored to the restrictions set by a surge in COVID-19 cases.
As for ensuring the safety of offline classes, 58.3 percent asked the government to minimize the number of students allowed into each classroom.
Asked about the most effective methods for teaching online, 54.4 percent pointed to the need to expand methods of communication with students, while 53.4 percent called for a two-way communication system using various video conference programs.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
