Cho Hee-yeon "The CSAT Can Be Postponed by a Month, But Not Now"

"No need to use all options at this stage"
Education Ministry dismisses conflicting remarks on CSAT postponement

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, is announcing the plan for in-person classes on the 18th at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul. This plan, which includes the Ministry of Education's phased and sequential in-person class announcement according to social distancing in daily life and the detailed implementation measures of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stipulates that for 3rd-year high school students, attending school daily is the principle, while 1st and 2nd-year students will operate on a biweekly basis by grade and class, combining remote and in-person classes. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated on the 18th during a press briefing on the 'School Attendance Operation Plan' at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, "The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) can be postponed from two weeks up to a month, but at this stage, there is no need to consider all options."

During the Q&A session following the announcement of the school attendance operation plan, Superintendent Cho effectively expressed a position accepting the government’s policy. Previously, Park Baek-beom, Deputy Minister of Education, had said, "We are not considering postponing the attendance of 12th graders, and there are no changes to the CSAT date or difficulty level or the college admission system," but Superintendent Cho had shown a conflicting stance at a debate last weekend by saying the CSAT could be postponed by up to a month, causing controversy.

Superintendent Cho explained, "Considering college admissions until March next year, there is room for (CSAT postponement)," but added, "At this stage, with attendance already postponed from the 13th to the 20th, I judged that it would be better to accept this."

He said, "The autonomy of the education office is determined within the larger framework decided by the Ministry of Education together with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency at the national level," and added, "Initially, the request was for a one-week postponement of 12th graders’ attendance, which was accepted, but now it is judged that a further postponement is not necessary."

Furthermore, Superintendent Cho stated, "The COVID-19 crisis is fluid and its trajectory uncertain," and said, "I believe that school attendance should be reconsidered in situations where volatility can change rapidly."

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