BAI investigation exposes deep-rooted CSAT 'private education cartels'

Takers of the Korea's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) study before the test begins at Daegu Girl's High School on Nov. 16, 2023. [NEWS1]

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) confirmed on Monday that so-called “private education cartels” existed, where high school teachers colluded with private education institutes.

The BAI found 56 teachers and private education authorities allegedly guilty of breaching trust, violating the Anti-Graft Act and interfering with business during its three-month audit on public teachers participating in the private education fields since September 2023.

"Private education cartels" refer to a systemic practice where education authorities and the private education sector work together with teachers to sell questions or services about mock CSAT questions to private education companies.

The audit institution requested the police to conduct an investigation against the 56 suspects, it said on Monday.

The people related to the controversy of the CSAT held in 2022 were included in the list of suspects.

After the CSAT in November 2022, there were concerns that the English passage for question No. 23 of the English section was identical to a cram school’s mock exam question provided by a famous lecturer at a private CSAT preparatory academy.

The passage was based on an excerpt from “Too Much Information (TMI)” (2020) written by Cass R. Sunstein, a professor at Harvard Law School.

According to the BAI’s inspection, the identical English passage was included in the January 2023 EBS textbook for the CSAT as a question submitted by a high school teacher in March 2022. EBS is a state-run public educational broadcaster.

In August 2022, a university professor came across the passage while supervising the EBS textbook.

Later, the same professor participated as a test maker for the year's CSAT English section. The professor used the passage for the No. 23 question of the actual CSAT exam.

A famous lecturer at a private CSAT cram school, who is well known for allegedly trading in questions with schoolteachers for money, received the “TMI” passage ahead of the exam date. The lecturer got the information from a teacher who had a close connection with the professor who put the question in the exam.

After receiving the passage, the lecturer used it for the cram school’s September mock exam, two months before the actual CSAT.

The BAI also accused the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation, which administers the CSAT, for mishandling its work as it was unable to filter out questions that were used in previous private cram school mock exams before determining the CSAT questions.

Additionally, authorities of the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation were found to have conspired to exclude the 215 appeals and complaints about the repeated passage to reduce backlash.

The BAI claimed that numerous teachers, who participated either in making EBS textbooks for CSAT or the CSAT questions themselves, were involved in trading questions in exchange for money or other valuable goods.

According to the BAI, a “pyramid-shaped” system existed among experienced teachers who created CSAT mock exams, the actual CSAT or the CSAT EBS textbook.

For instance, a high school teacher who participated several times in supervising the CSAT and CSAT mock exams brought eight teachers to join in trading questions with cram schools while the teachers were writing exam questions.

The high school teacher who led the group received a total of 660 million won for providing questions to private education institutes and renowned cram school lecturers from 2019 to May 2023.

“We confirmed that question trades were deeply rooted between teachers and private cram schools, especially among teachers who sought after financial interest and cram schools desiring high-quality questions,” the BAI said.

In other cases, the BAI confirmed that a current university admission officer was employed at a private education center, lecturing on how to write cover letters for university admission in exchange for money and goods.

“Several cases were discovered violating the Higher Education Act, which implements a three-year employment restriction on admission officers after they resign,” the BAI said. “As there are no sanctions against those violating the Act, the BAI committee will discuss and take measures for the Education Ministry to improve the current system.”

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]