A police officer carries a student who was late for the College Scholastic Ability Test to a school in southern Seoul Thursday morning. / Korea Times |
More than half a million high school students and graduates Thursday began a nationwide college entrance exam that weighs heavily on their future while the nation hushed up traffic and military noise that could disrupt the critical test, according to Yonhap News.
Parents could be seen praying outside schools where their children take exams. The College Scholastic Ability Test, conducted on the third Thursday of November every year, is considered a decisive factor in determining a student's career opportunities.
A total of 588,282 students took the exam at nearly 1,000 places across the country starting at 8:40 a.m. They were banned from carrying any electronic gadgets, including cellular phones and MP3 players, which could be used for cheating.
Government workers and employees of public firms were told to report to work by 10 a.m., one hour later than usual, to help relieve morning traffic jams that could cause students to be late for the test.
Anti-noise measures were imposed on the military to further ensure there would be no distractions.
"All military aircraft have been banned from taking off or landing during the first and third sections of the exam when the students are scheduled to take listening tests while emergency medical evacuation aircraft have been ordered to maintain a minimum altitude of 3 kilometers," an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying.
All firearms and mobilization training exercises have been suspended during test hours, the official said, adding U.S. Forces Korea was taking the same measures.
Some 14,000 police officers as well as 6,800 taxi drivers and over 4,200 police vehicles stood by near the test places to help the students arrive in time and prevent interruptions.
Subways and buses also increased operations between 6 and 10 in the morning, while private taxis were exempted from normal operation restrictions, transportation authorities said.
The five-section exam, administered by the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Examination, tests students' ability in Korean, math, English, social studies and foreign languages or Chinese characters.
Modern Korean history was newly added this year to be included in the third section. The education ministry explained that the addition is in response to mounting calls that students must learn to deal with Japan glossing over its colonization of Korea in its textbooks and China's attempts to claim Korea's ancient kingdom of Koguryo (37 B.C.~A.D. 668) as part of its own history.
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