December 04, 2020 13:19
Only 426,344 people sat the university entrance exam on Thursday, the smallest number since the current system was introduced in 1994.
The absentee rate was a record 13.17 percent, up 1.65 percentage points from last year, as many youngsters stayed away for fear of coronavirus infection.
High school seniors went through a lot of trouble this year. The spring semester was supposed to begin in March but did not start until May 20 because school reopening was postponed five times.
"Considering that classes were disrupted by the epidemic, we focused on making sure that questions would not be too hard," said Min Chan-hong of Hanyang University, who was in charge of writing test questions.
The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation is accepting objections to questions and answers on its website until Dec. 7. The exam results will be out on Dec. 23.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com