No Interruption Should Be Made for Remaining University Entry Schedule

As it has been found out that cheating in the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT) using mobile phones was a national trend, examinees and their parents are actively criticising the education department for not supervising thoroughly.

Citizens also said, “Examinees are very confused due to an unsettled atmosphere with words of retesting. An investigation has to be carried out as soon as possible so that disadvantage is minimized.”

Second time examinee Kim Dong-jik (20 years old) expressed his anger by saying, “I feel betrayed by those who cheated. Students became fools for studying hard.”

Kim Hong-geun (19 years old) also said, “I feel anxious and angry that this year’s CSAT is criticised because of few students.” He added, “I hope that this case will end soon so that I can get ready for next tests like an oral exam.”

A parent of an examinee, Yoo Hyun-ja (46 years old), said, “The Ministry of Education and Human Resources is too laid back about solving exam supervision and post measure problems. There is more cheating done than reported. Therefore, it has to investigate it thoroughly and punish it.”

Especially on the Internet, there is a lot of criticism against supervision on the exam day.

Netizen “hyun_1105” wrote an article called, “Supervisors, you have to reflect on yourselves,” on a site and argued, “They did not properly check those who did not bring ID cards or those who did not hand their phones in. Why not just cancel the CSAT and let the universities select the students for themselves.”

An examinee from Seoul showed his discontent of the supervision by saying, “The supervision was so bad. They listened to MP3 or did yoga during exam time.”

A parent, Mrs. Kim (50 years old), complained, “It seems like those who did their best are suffering, which makes me angry. Schools and the government know how students cheat. I do not know why they allowed so much of a gap in supervision.”

Educational groups such as the Korean Teachers and Educational Worker’s Union (KTEWU) and the Korea Federation of Teacher’s Associations (KFTA) made a declaration and asked for the government’s fast counter measures.

The KTEWU said in the announcement that “cheating with mobiles can affect badly the public confidence of the CSAT. The education and investigation department’s strict countermeasures are needed.”

KFTA spokesman Han Jae-gab said, “A strict investigation has to be carried out so that those students who played fairly are not punished for doing so. Through this case, we have to check on the loose supervision of CSAT and government-level efficient measures should be discussed.”

Jang Eun-sook of the “National Parents’ for Right Education” said, “The Ministry of Education is to blame for not being able to block cheating before it happened. It has to punish all the related people and end this crisis as soon as possible.”

Sillim High School’s teacher Park (50 years old) said, “When cheating was found in Gwangju, I instantly knew that it happened throughout the country. We should not close our eyes to it because of university entry stress, but punish wrong so that callousness to cheating declines.”

Two-time exam taker Park Joo-eon (20 years old) said, “If they just close the case without taking clear measures, we will see cheating next year too. An investigation should be carried out thoroughly to lessen a sense of uneasiness of students who studied hard.”

Ji-Won Jun Soo-Jung Shin podragon@donga.com crystal@donga.com