| A teacher in Suwon conducts a trial run of virtual class. Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
The Moon Jae-in administration made some highly-anticipated announcements this week regarding education and monetary assistance for struggling families amid the social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the announcements have only led to more questions rather than providing answers, resulting in mounting public concerns about this administration's capacity for effective responses to various socio-economic challenges resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.
In particular, the Ministry of Education's announcement Tuesday about beginning the school year for elementary, middle and high schools with online classes starting April 9 has angered parents, teachers and students.
"It is inevitable to delay the opening of the school year. I ask for the understanding of the many families that will face inconvenience," Moon said during a Cabinet meeting on the day the online class decision was announced.
As the pandemic is not going to go away any time soon despite an active social distancing campaign, and because schools cannot remain closed indefinitely, introducing virtual classes as an alternative to traditional teaching at this time is not a bad idea. The government said the decision was made after gathering opinions from communities, the education sector and parents.
But still, the government deserves criticism for not giving schools and students sufficient time to prepare, with questions on feasibility and effectiveness of the online classes being raised. The education ministry sent official notices to high schools to prepare for the online classes April 1, which only gives teachers eight days to get the new system ready by April 9, designated as the day classes for middle and high school seniors start.
The government is also being heavily criticized for a vague announcement Monday on giving out disaster relief money to people with relatively low incomes. The ministries involved in the program are saying different things about the criteria on who can receive the money, raising questions on whether there was sufficient coordination among and within government agencies. It is not surprising that the relief fund plan is called a "populist program" by the opposition bloc ahead of the April 15 general election.