In light of the rapidly surging numbers of Covid-19 cases in South Korea, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has suspended all semester exchanges to the country until further notice.
MFA advisory on travelling to South Korea
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFA) advisory was issued on Feb. 23, 2020 for Singaporeans to avoid non-essential travel to Daegu and Cheongdo and to exercise caution when travelling to the rest of the Republic of Korea.
As of Feb. 24, there has been 833 confirmed Covid-19 cases and eight deaths in South Korea, with the majority from the Daegu religious sect cluster and Cheongdo hospital cluster.
Students stuck without classes
With NTU's measure to suspend all semester exchanges to South Korea in the middle of the semester, several students have been left with few choices.
Some face the possibility of delaying their graduation as well.
Noel, a third-year student in NTU, told Mothership that she was only informed of the suspension on Sunday night (Feb. 23), four hours before her flight to South Korea.
She added that her host university was in Incheon, Seoul, roughly 230km away from Daegu, the city worst-hit by the virus.
"My friends and I were not prepared for the sudden cancellation," she said.
According to her, NTU has given the students four options -
- To take Leave of Absence (LOA) and delay their graduation;
- Take up a credited internship in advance;
- Start on their Final Year Project (FYP) in advance, or
- Opt to register for ongoing NTU classes.
Noel added that several ongoing classes that they would have taken in Korea are already halfway through the semester in NTU, which began on Jan. 13, causing students to be significantly disadvantaged if they were to join now.
She also noted that NTU has given them until Wednesday morning (Feb. 26) to decide.
NTU's email to affected students. Photo via Noel/NTU
"I still want to experience exchange as a student. (But) because of this virus, I am unable to go for exchange unless i take a LOA and delay my graduation,"
NTU assures that they will assist students
In response to media queries, a spokesperson from NTU said that they are providing their students with "alternative options", including taking up courses during their summer break from May to August.
The students may also apply for overseas exchanges or internships in subsequent semesters, the spokesperson added.
Several partner universities in South Korea has also informed that they will be deferring their incoming exchanges to NTU in light of the Covid-19 developments in their country.
Read the full statement here:
In view of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation in South Korea and following the Ministry of Health’s advisory for travellers to avoid non-essential travel to Daegu and Chengdo and to exercise caution when travelling to the rest of South Korea, NTU is suspending all semester exchanges to South Korea until further notice.
Several of our partner universities in South Korea have informed us that they would like to defer all their incoming exchanges due to the COVID-19 developments in their country. NTU will similarly work with our partner universities in South Korea to defer all outbound student exchanges until further notice.
The various schools at NTU are assisting affected students, with alternative options including, but not limited to, pursuing credit-bearing internships or taking up courses during the May to August vacation period.
These students may apply for overseas exchanges or internships in the next or subsequent semesters. The University is also looking into the matter of insurance claims, and will advise students on their claims where applicable.
Top image via Getty images, NTU