South Korean schools switched to online remote classes in 2020 after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students have returned to their classes, but schools were often locked down due to the sporadic infection of students and teachers.
Special schools for disable students have resumed offline classes, but many parents chose not to send their kids because it is harder for teachers to ask them to follow quarantine guidelines. As of December 2020, South Korea had about 8,700 special schools for 95,420 disabled students and more than 22,000 teachers.
The National Institute of Special Education (NISE) controlled by the Ministry of Education said in a statement on April 19 that it would l develop a remote education platform and educational content featuring a voice recognition service for hearing-impaired students and a screen reader service for blind students. The screen reader detects texts and converts them into synthesized voices or braille.
"Through continuous research and development, we will help disabled students successfully integrate into the society," NISE head Lee Han-woo was quoted as saying. The institute will also develop realistic interface educational content using virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.