By Bahk Eun-ji







With roughly 70,000 Chinese students set to return to Korean campuses, an increasing number of universities are deciding to postpone their spring semester amid fears of the new coronavirus, according to school officials Tuesday.







A notice at a dormitory on the campus of Sogang University in Seoul, Tuesday, saying any visitors who have visited the Chinese province of Hubei within the last two weeks should report to the supervisor's office immediately, regardless of symptoms. /Yonhap

Kyung Hee University, which has more than 4,700 Chinese students, has decided to delay its start of the spring semester, which was originally scheduled to begin on March 2.







"This decision comes amid growing fears of the possible spread of the coronavirus on our campus. We are also beefing up all efforts to prevent the spread of the disease by preparing measures with related departments in the school," a Kyung Hee University official said. The school has canceled group events, including graduation and entrance ceremonies, and orientation programs for freshmen.







Sogang University also announced that it would delay the new semester for two weeks, starting from March 2, for both undergraduate and graduate courses. Accordingly, the start day of the new semester is expected to be in the middle of March.







The university said it would also cancel the graduation and entrance ceremonies, together with orientation programs to avoid potential spread of the disease, a Sogang University official said.







Other universities in Seoul, including Yonsei University, Ewha Woman's University and Korea Unversity, also canceled similar group events.







Sungkyunkwan University has strongly recommended students that have returned to Korea after visiting China or other countries with confirmed cases of the coronavirus to stay home for a minimum of 14 days from their arrival here.







The school officials have expressed concern over the possibility that students, especially from China, could bring the highly-infectious virus with them, raising the possibility that campuses could become the epicenter of any outbreak here.







To allay worries of students and parents, the Ministry of Education (MOE) also announced it would closely consult with university officials to rearrange their academic calendars so that students' education will not be affected. Under the current education law, universities are allowed to postpone their reopening for a maximum of two weeks without rearranging the academic schedule. However, if the semester reopening extends beyond three weeks, the ministry will advise university officials to reduce vacation periods to counter the disruption.







The education ministry also advised colleges across the country to allow freshmen to take a leave of absence for the first semester, which is currently banned, and to ccept absences for the students who are under quarantine.







According to the Korean Education Statistics Service, the number of Chinese nationals studying in Korea was 69,287 as of April 2019, or 43.3 percent of the 160,165 international students. The MOE said it will have an emergency meeting with university officials to decide detailed measures this week.

