Students take a mock test in a classroom at Daegu Girls’ High School in the southeastern city of Daegu on Oct. 15, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Education has effectively rejected requests from teachers’ unions to provide chairs for invigilators during the nationwide college entrance exam.
The MOE sent a message to the teachers’ union indicating that the placement of chairs for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) supervisors was an issue that needed to be decided after a general review of the public’s sentiment, including students and parents.
The decision means that it will be difficult to implement this year’s nationwide college entrance exam, which will take place on November 14.
Local teachers’ unions, including the Korean Federation of Teachers and the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations, are demanding that tall chairs be placed for test invigilators.
The groups also collected 32,000 signatures from teachers calling for better working conditions for invigilators, including the use of chairs, and submitted them to the ministry and the National Council of Governors of Education.
In particular, invigilators for the test have to stand for up to seven hours, they said, adding that there should be minimal consideration such as the use of chairs to reduce the mental and physical burden.
But education authorities have remained cautious about changing the system related to the CSAT.
However, the ministry said that it will be able to take out related group insurance policies starting this year so that it can respond to various lawsuits that arise while conducting supervision work for the test.
Furthermore, it added that depending on the conditions of each education office, it will try to raise the allowance for invigilators while allowing ordinary civil servants to supervise the test.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
