Photo Credit: https://hga.com/returning-to-campus-during-covid-19/
As the start of Spring 2022 is coming, both concerns and expectations about instructional mode have increased. There was hope for a transition to in-person classes for many universities until last December when the number of daily confirmed cases was nearly 5,000. However, as the number has surged up to 35,000 as of February 8th, the long aspiration has come to naught. However, since George Mason University Korea (GMUK) decided to go back to face-to-face classes for this new semester, it is bringing people’s attention to how it will go through the present situation that a new variant is spreading.
Due to the enforcement of the policy, ‘Living With COVID-19,’ which led to loosened disinfection guidelines during November 2021, there has been a proliferation in the infection rate with the emergence of the Omicron variant. As a response, the social distancing policy has been strengthened. Furthermore, on January 3rd, the Korean government introduced the COVID-19 pass system to protect public health. However, in the meantime, the pass system has intensified the public pressure to get a booster shot, which the safety is not officially proven yet. Moreover, the government has not acknowledged the causality between vaccines and cardiovascular disease, which has given rise to distrust in the medical sector and the government, destabilizing the whole country.
Amid unforeseeable and discontented circumstances, preparing for the upcoming Spring semester, each university in Korea is arranging unique instructional guidelines following social distancing protocols. JeonBuk National University decided to return to courses in person, while Kyunghee University will have remote learning in principle. Also, Seoul National University, Hanyang, and Sungkyunkwan University will provide hybrid formats with both online and face-to-face classes. Meanwhile, many experts are forecasting that there is little likelihood of returning to an entirely in-person instructional mode due to the adaptability of technology and platforms.
Although GMUK has officially decided to resume campus-based learning for Spring 2022, the majority of students can not simply be happy about the decision. A freshman student said, “Even though online classes are not completely satisfying, the format is still needed. If we have a confirmed case in class, students should do self-isolation, covid testing, and all that in the middle of the semester, which will distract both our daily life and academic pursuit.” (GMUK, Business, ‘25). Another student shows a neutral position about it, saying, “It is the time to go back to in-person instructional mode, considering the expensive tuition and benefits of networking aspect. However, the concerns about virus transmission and the comfort we have experienced with distance learning are not negligible” (GMUK, Business, ‘25). Considering these public perspectives, GMUK will have to practically suggest the most efficient and safest way to operate in-person classes.
The Korean Ministry of Education stated that they would put forward educational institutions’ preventive measures by February, considering the infection rate of students and faculties, vaccination rate, and Omicron variant characteristics. However, given the high transmissibility of Omicron, it is uncertain how the decision of instructional mode from GMUK will affect students academically and physically. Hence, IGC and GMUK should put the safety of students and faculties as a priority and respond wisely to a new crisis so that they can prevent the problem from getting in the way of their education.
Written by Yoonhye Cho | Staff Writer
Revised by Yu Bin Kwon | Managing Editor
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