Record Low Number of Test Takers Amid Highest Absentee Rate Since the Introduction of the Suneung Exam

45 Confirmed Examinees and 456 in Self-Quarantine
160 Symptomatic Examinees on the Morning of the Day
5 New Confirmed Cases Early Morning After Previous Day's Testing

On the morning of the 3rd, the day of the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), examinees are waiting for the exam to start at the CSAT testing site set up at Seocho High School in Seocho-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The number of test-takers for the first session of the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) was recorded at 426,344, the lowest ever.

According to the Ministry of Education on the 3rd, the total number of applicants for this year's CSAT was 490,992, of which 64,648 did not take the exam.

The absentee rate was 13.17%, an increase of 1.65 percentage points compared to the previous year. This is the highest number ever recorded.

This year, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), separate testing centers were set up for self-quarantined examinees in addition to the regular test sites, as well as hospitals and residential treatment centers where confirmed patients took the exam. There were a total of 45 confirmed examinees and 456 self-quarantined examinees for this year's CSAT.

On the morning of the test day, 160 examinees with symptoms took the CSAT in separate rooms instead of the regular test rooms at general test sites. The remaining 425,683 took the exam in regular test rooms.

On the day before the CSAT, the 2nd, a total of 414 examinees underwent COVID-19 diagnostic tests. The tests were completed by 4:34 a.m. on the 3rd, and 5 of them tested positive. Examinees who were confirmed positive were assigned to hospitals or residential treatment centers where confirmed examinees take the exam before the test started and took the exam there.