Gyeongnam Office of Education: "Unissued Smart Devices Due to Students Refusing to Use Them"

Explanation Issued on Discrepancies in Terminal Delivery and Payment Status

Gyeongnam Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Gyeongnam Office of Education recently issued a clarification regarding suspicions of discrepancies in the delivery and distribution status of smart devices raised during the provincial council's administrative audit.

On the 3rd, during the provincial education office's administrative audit, Provincial Council Member Jeong Gyuheon stated that as of September, there were inconsistencies between the delivery status of devices from the supplier and the distribution status of devices at frontline schools, despite the payment having been completed.

In response, the education office stated in a press release on the 4th, "Smart devices that students did not consent to were not distributed."

They explained that student smart devices were delivered normally in accordance with contract conditions, with 290,124 units delivered in two batches from February to August this year.

"There are no issues with administrative procedures such as payment," they added, "and the 13,262 units not distributed were due to students' lack of consent."

The education office clarified, "Student smart devices were delivered to schools and distributed individually to students, but considering the timing of distribution, consent was pre-surveyed for third-year high school students (Grade 12) who were expected to have low device usage due to preparation for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT)."

The survey results showed that the number of undistributed devices corresponded to the number of students who did not consent to using the devices.

An education office official said, "The 13,262 undistributed devices are currently stored at the LG consortium logistics center and are undergoing regular inspections," adding, "We will strengthen management systems such as on-site inspections and insurance enrollment."

They continued, "The smart device distribution project has been steadily promoted since 2017 as an important foundation for customized future education for students," and added, "Our education office will do its best to establish a big data-artificial intelligence (AI) based customized education system for students through the distribution of smart devices."

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