Seoul, Oct 29 (IANS): South Korea will fully resume in-person school classes next month in line with the government's "living with Covid-19" scheme, the Education Ministry said on Friday.

In-person attendance at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools will resume nationwide on November 22, following this year's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a state-run university entrance exam, on November 18, according to the Ministry.

Universities will be allowed to gradually resume in-person classes starting from November 1, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The plan is part of the government's "living with Covid-19" scheme to be imposed for the next four weeks as part of a broader plan to gradually lift the virus restrictions by the end of January.

Education authorities have controlled the level of in-person class sizes in line with the government-imposed social distancing scheme.

The attendance rate for the Seoul metropolitan area stands at 69.1 per cent while that outside of the capital remains at around 94.4 per cent.

However, the Ministry said it will allow local education authorities to autonomously manage school operations based on specific conditions of regions and individual educational institutions.

Kindergartens will be allowed offer outdoor physical activities to children, and elementary, middle and high schools will be allowed to conduct discussion and debate sessions during classes.

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said the success in resuming school classes depends on whether local communities strictly abide by basic virus protocols.