As online classes for elementary, middle and high school students were rolled out in phases starting from April 9, 2020, the Ministry of Education assisted families in need with the rental of necessary IT devices for remote learning such as desktops, laptops and tablets. The Ministry of Education also supported students with free internet (for low-income families) and mobile data to access e-learning sites in order to guarantee the equal opportunity for education. A taskforce was organized, consisting of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and ICT, related agencies, cellular companies, and cloud service providers, to optimize communication networks and prepare for any technical issues. Additionally, the infrastructure has been expanded to provide a more stable service. For seniors of high schools, one-on-one online counseling will be offered through their homeroom teachers and career counselors to help them prepare for their careers, university admission, and university entrance exam. In addition, educational content is being broadcast live on TV channels such as EBS so that students can easily access educational materials. More online content and public resources have been added to platforms. Many of them are developed under public-private partnerships Guidelines for online classes were provided for not only basic classroom management but also sustaining online classes in the longer-term perspective.
The private sector has also pitched in with innovative solutions to facilitate online learning.
[Public-Private Cooperation for Online Education]
Free services provided by Edutech companies
Type of Service |
Company |
Major Contents |
Online lectures for students |
Wizschool |
Offers student-centered customized learning contents |
Online platform for schools, etc. |
Classum |
A platform for real-time interactive online education |
Classting |
Provides mobile school newsletters, AI-based customized learning services, etc. |
|
MJ World |
Real-time online classes (smart learning) |
|
Online platform |
Naver |
A platform for internet information service, real-time interactive online education |
Kakao |
A platform for internet information service, real-time interactive online education |
|
At home childcare service |
Jaranda |
Provides a child-teacher matching service through the use of algorithm (age, characteristics, etc.) |
Noldam |
An hourly childcare service offered by certified baby sitters |
Further details of online class support by the Ministry of Education can be found here.