Lee Jae-jung: "If Taking the Exam Is Impossible... There Is Room to Reschedule the CSAT"

"No Postponement of the CSAT? Not Something to Decide Firmly, But If It Worsens, It Should Not Be Withdrawn"
"No Room for Adjustment in the Early Admission Process This September"

Gyeonggi Provincial Superintendent of Education Lee Jae-jung. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Lee Jae-jung, Superintendent of Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, hinted at the possibility of adjusting the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) schedule due to the resurgence of COVID-19.

In an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 20th, Superintendent Lee said, "There is room for the CSAT schedule to be readjusted," adding, "If the risk of infection makes it impossible for a significant number of students to take the exam, that would be a serious problem."

Regarding the Ministry of Education's vice minister stating that there is no plan to postpone the CSAT, he said, "It is not something to be set in stone, and if the situation worsens, there may be a need to reconsider," emphasizing, "In the past, the entire CSAT was postponed due to the Pohang earthquake, wasn't it?"

He continued, "We are partially discussing contingency plans," and explained, "The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education is internally reviewing the issue of adjusting the CSAT schedule."

However, he added, "In the past, exam papers were prepared in types A and B, but as far as I know, only one set is prepared this time, so postponing the exam would bring various difficulties," and said, "Since I am not an expert on this matter, I need to check with the relevant authorities."

Superintendent Lee also expressed concerns about the upcoming early admission process starting in September. He said, "According to the schedule, all student records for early admission must be completed by September 16, but if only two-thirds of students attend school by the 11th, there will be an absolute shortage of days to conduct early admission evaluations," adding, "This could practically disadvantage students, so I am very worried about this."

He further stated, "Currently, there is no room to adjust the early admission schedule," and judged, "Since there is a university admission schedule, delaying beyond September 16 would cause various difficulties."

Superintendent Lee also mentioned measures for COVID-19 prevention management outside of schools.

He said, "For the health of students, Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province, the Chief of the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency, and I have discussed strongly recommending that private academies remain closed at least until the end of this month, and we plan to conduct inspections," but added, "However, simply blocking this is not a solution."

He continued, "Students cannot just stay at home, so how to wisely resolve these issues is a challenge," and added, "We also recommend that academies conduct classes online and strive to enable non-face-to-face learning as much as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.