Final Exams Delayed Over Food Scare

The recent school meal scandal is affecting more schools, as 102 schools stopped providing school lunch and as some school schools are forced to change schedules.

Education authorities confirmed as of June 26 that since June 16, some 2314 students in 30 schools in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi had suffered food poisoning from contaminated school meals.

A total of 102 schools run by CJ Food System halted operation of school cafeteria; 80 schools have the students bring their lunch and 20 shortened school hours.

Some schools in Seoul and Incheon delayed final exams by two to three days, which resulted in postponed summer vacation.

Other schools are finding it difficult to run after-school classes. Jungang Girls` High School in Seoul normally had 300-400 students participating in after-school classes, but the number fell to just 150 after the school meal poison incident.

“It is not easy to tell the student to stay for after-school classes because we cannot provide dinner. I am very concerned about the situation because such disruption is hard to recover from,” said the principal of the school.

“After-school classes have been closed altogether. I hope it doesn’t have a large effect on student who should be focusing on college entrance exams,” said a parent of Suhmoon Girls` High School student.

In the fourth day of the school meal poisoning incident students now bring their lunch.

However, some students who used to receive subsidies for school lunch are not able to bring lunch due to economic reasons.

Therefore, the government ordered schools to provide lunch tickets that can be used in nearby cafeterias for those students.

Some schools are following the government’s order, but in many cases students chose not eat lunch for fear of classmates finding out about their difficult financial situation.

“I received a ticket from school but did not go and eat, because if I do, my classmates will know that my family is poor,” said a student of a high school in Seoul.

“I cannot bring lunch because my mother is sick. I am worried because I have to go out and eat lunch for a while,” said another student.