4th Generation NICE System Failure After 282.4 Billion Investment... Disaster for High School Seniors on College Entrance Exam Day

'Nice' System Failure Immediately After Launch... Answer Leak Reported
Concerns Over Senior High School Student Records Deadline During Final Exam Period

The government’s newly launched education information system, the '4th Generation NEIS (National Education Information System),' developed at a cost of 282.4 billion KRW, is being treated as a burden. As error controversies escalate, the processing of end-of-term grades is being delayed. There are concerns that the preparation of student records, which takes place in July and August, may also be postponed.

NEIS is a network used by the Ministry of Education, 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education, and schools nationwide to manage students’ grades, attendance, and behavioral records.

Since September 2020, the government formed a dedicated task force (TF) including the Ministry of Education, metropolitan and provincial offices of education, and the Korea Education and Research Information Service, investing a budget of 282.4 billion KRW to develop the 4th Generation NEIS. The 4th Generation NEIS was revamped from the 3rd Generation NEIS, which was restructured in 2011, reflecting changes in users’ digital and automated environments.

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union held a press conference on the 26th in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul, condemning the educational disaster caused by the introduction of the 4th generation NEIS. Photo by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union

However, from its launch day on the 22nd, numerous defects emerged in the 4th Generation NEIS. After experiencing login failures and connection delays, an error occurred where the answer sheet for a final exam from one school was printed at a third school.

With final exams approaching, some schools postponed tests due to these errors, and during the weekend, emergency measures were taken such as rearranging the order of exam questions for reprinting or rewriting exam questions.

Red flags have also been raised regarding the deadline for student records. In July and August, student records for high school seniors applying for early college admissions are prepared, but there are concerns that the processing of end-of-term grades may be delayed due to the NEIS system outage.

Teacher organizations are urging the Ministry of Education to suspend the 4th Generation NEIS.

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (JeonGyoJo) held a press conference on the 26th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, stating, "We strongly raised issues with the Ministry of Education regarding the June launch of the 4th Generation NEIS and demanded a delay in the launch. We emphasized that June is the period for processing final exams and performance assessments in middle and high schools and raised concerns about potential data leaks, but the Ministry of Education repeatedly responded that there were no problems."

They added, "Schools fell into chaos, even causing commotion as they hurriedly informed parents about changes to the exam schedule. High schools input student records during the July-August vacation period for early application submissions, and we cannot guarantee the protection of students’ personal information," they pointed out.

JeonGyoJo demanded the suspension of the 4th Generation NEIS, an apology from President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the dismissal of Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education.

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