Teacher at Korean School in Jakarta, Indonesia Smuggled Answer Sheets for Their Child
Disciplinary committee to convene next week… Criminal charges also under review
Gate of Jakarta Korean International School
[Yonhap News archive photo]
(Jakarta=Yonhap News) Correspondent Park Eui-rae = Allegations have surfaced that a teacher at the Jakarta Korean International School (JIKS), located in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, leaked exam answer sheets to their own child who is enrolled at the school. The school and South Korea's Ministry of Education are currently investigating the matter.
JIKS is a Korean international school that has received official accreditation from both the Korean and Indonesian governments and operates from elementary through high school levels following the Korean curriculum.
According to the school on the 21st (local time), the school believes that the exam paper and answer sheet for the English subject of the first-semester midterm exam for 11th grade (second year of high school), held from the 17th to the 19th, were leaked in advance.
The incident began when another student happened to discover that one student was in possession of a note believed to be an answer sheet and raised suspicions.
The school then launched an investigation and believes that teacher A leaked the exam paper and answer sheet in advance and handed them to student B, their own child.
Upon becoming aware of the situation on the 18th, the school immediately notified the Korean Embassy in Indonesia and the Ministry of Education, and on the 20th held an emergency board meeting to form a disciplinary committee regarding teacher A. The disciplinary committee is scheduled to convene on the 24th in accordance with procedures. The school is also reviewing filing criminal charges against teacher A in addition to disciplinary action.
A disciplinary committee was also convened for student B to discuss punishment, and the disciplinary decision is expected to be finalized by the end of the month. The school explained that since JIKS is a school accredited by South Korea's Ministry of Education, the disciplinary action against student B will also be valid in South Korea.
However, parents at JIKS are suspicious that teacher A's misconduct may not be limited to this incident alone. Teacher A was hired in March 2022 and came to Indonesia from South Korea, and the student in question is said to have transferred to JIKS at that time as well.
In this regard, the school explained that since grades are calculated on an absolute grading scale, other students will not be disadvantaged in their school record grades due to the misconduct of teacher A and student B. The school also stated that it is simultaneously investigating whether similar cases occurred in other exams.
JIKS Principal Lee Seon-a said, "The school recognizes the gravity of the matter and is proceeding with strict disciplinary measures against the teacher and student involved," adding, "We are doing our best to ensure that students are not harmed, and we plan to establish strong preventive measures and disclose them to parents."
laecorp@yna.co.kr
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Does anyone happen to know how this case was resolved? Since they said the disciplinary action would also be valid in South Korea, I'm thinking it might be worth contacting the Ministry of Education.
I remember that an atmosphere was created where children and parents were being silenced, with the implication that speaking further would result in disadvantages... It's been two years since this incident... I'm just wondering how the perpetrator was punished, what resolution the victims were given to wrap up their high school years... The last information I had was that the vice principal at the time was sent back to South Korea and was awaiting punishment from the Ministry of Education.
The vice principal at the time had two children, and the student in question was the vice principal's eldest child, while the second child was not even mentioned. However, the second child had gone to the bathroom more than twice during the exam, and classmates raised the question of whether they had gone to check on cheating or to look at the leaked answer sheets — yet the truth about the second child was covered up, and only the matter of the eldest child was addressed, as I recall.
The last version of the information I have is only that punishment would be carried out in South Korea since it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, and I plan to contact the Korean Ministry of Education next week to follow up on how things progressed. I also think I should reach out to the Yonhap News reporter who covered the story at the time.
