"Anxious About Additional COVID-19 Cases" Academy District on Alert Ahead of Suneung Exam

Confirmed Daechi-dong Academy Instructor Worked at 2 Academies for 5 Days After First Symptoms
Gangnam-gu Conducts Mass Testing of 20,000 Academy Instructors
Concerns Over COVID-19 Resurgence Among Students and Parents in Academy Areas
Experts Urge Stronger Prevention to Avoid Disruptions to Students' Schedules

On the morning of May 21, third-year students at Busanjin High School are taking the 'National Joint Academic Achievement Test,' a mock exam for the College Scholastic Ability Test. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Recently, an instructor at a private academy in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), triggering an alert in the academy community. Fortunately, all contacts tested negative after diagnostic testing, but anxiety among examinees and parents remains high.

In response to the situation, Gangnam-gu has taken preemptive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 originating from the Daechi-dong private academies. Starting from the 21st, the district is conducting comprehensive testing for 20,000 academy instructors within its jurisdiction for one month to strengthen quarantine measures. The testing targets instructors affiliated with a total of 3,075 institutions, including 40 large academies with over 300 students, 1,635 small and medium-sized academies, 900 private tutoring centers, and 500 adult academies.

This measure aims to block the spread of infection from asymptomatic patients and to alleviate the anxiety of examinees ahead of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) scheduled for December 3.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and others, instructor A, residing in Daechi-dong, was confirmed positive on the 19th after contact with a confirmed case from another region.

Contact tracing revealed that instructor A showed suspected COVID-19 symptoms on the 13th but attended the academy daily from the 11th to the 17th. Additionally, A visited an otolaryngology clinic every day for four days starting from the day symptoms appeared on the 13th.

Instructor A is known to have mainly taught mathematics to second and third-year students preparing for special-purpose high schools at the private academy. It was also found that A conducted private tutoring sessions in an office in Gangnam-gu.

On the 21st, academy instructors in the district are undergoing diagnostic tests at a temporary screening clinic for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) set up in front of the Daechi 2-dong Community Service Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Gangnam-gu, Seoul, is conducting comprehensive COVID-19 testing for about 20,000 academy instructors in the district, testing 1,000 people per day. This measure was taken as anxiety grew in the academy community after one instructor at a large entrance exam academy in Daechi-dong tested positive the day before the college scholastic ability test.
/Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

As a result, concerns are growing among examinees and parents ahead of this year’s CSAT that COVID-19 might resurge centered around the academy community.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CSAT was postponed by two weeks from November 19 to December 3, and with the social distancing level lowered to Level 1, the ban on gatherings was lifted, leading many examinees to attend academies.

In particular, examinees are flocking to academies to avoid disruptions in their studies as school classes have not been conducted smoothly due to COVID-19.

According to popular exam communities such as Sumanhwi (Let’s Wave the Perfect Score Test Papers on CSAT Day) and Orbi, examinees expressed their anxiety, saying, "It’s unsettling that such an incident happened at a large academy," "I can’t avoid going to the academy, so I feel like I’m walking on thin ice every day," and "It’s scary that this happened at such an important time."

With the CSAT less than 40 days away, some feel they have no choice but to attend academies. A high school senior said, "I couldn’t study properly because of COVID-19, so I recently started going back to the academy. But now that a teacher at a large academy tested positive, I can’t shake off my anxiety. Dozens of students gather in one classroom, and even though we wear masks, I’m worried. With only about a month left until the CSAT, I’m stressed because I have to worry about infection too."

A member of a parent community said, "My child also attends a private academy, and I’m very anxious. Although masks were worn, the confirmed case had contact with many students and instructors, so more cases might emerge. The CSAT is just around the corner, but students who should be focusing on studying have to worry about COVID-19 infection, which makes me angry."

On the 5th, a petition titled "Request to Postpone the College Scholastic Ability Test Due to COVID-19 and Implement a September Semester System" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. Photo by Blue House National Petition Website Capture

Meanwhile, the anxiety is intensifying as additional confirmed cases may emerge from the comprehensive testing. Consequently, some are calling for the CSAT to be postponed until next year.

A petition titled "Please Postpone the CSAT and Adopt a September Academic Calendar" was posted on the Blue House’s public petition site. The petitioner stated, "Confirmed cases among high school students in Busan were reported on the 26th of last month, and cases are also appearing in the metropolitan area. There is no complete cure for COVID-19. People live with severe aftereffects. I believe it is appropriate to postpone the CSAT until May next year."

Experts predict that the spread of COVID-19 in the academy community will not increase significantly and advise strengthening quarantine efforts to ensure examinees’ schedules are not disrupted.

Professor Kim Wooju of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital said, "Since comprehensive testing is underway, we need to wait for the results, but the confirmed instructor wore a mask properly, and the students attending the lectures also followed the rules well. In such cases, the number of confirmed cases is unlikely to increase significantly." He added, "This situation is expected to be different from churches or clubs where confirmed cases surged due to not wearing masks."

He continued, "The CSAT schedule has already been postponed once, and suddenly changing it again would cause confusion among students. To safely proceed with the scheduled exam, students attending academies should wear masks and follow personal quarantine guidelines."