Korean school under fire after forcing students to stay and study during earth quake

Students are unhappy with their school’s teachers and how they handled the recent 5.1 earthquake that shook the area just a few days ago.

A student at a Busan high school highlighted the situation at her school during the day of the earthquake, stating her unhappiness with the way teachers handled the situation. According to the third-year high schooler, first years and second years were given to the go-ahead to go home following the first 5.1 earthquake.

However, third-year students were told to stay inside the building and continue their studies, allegedly because the college scholastic test is quickly nearing and is set to take place in November.

The student continues to criticize the school’s staff, saying, “Parents called the school to ask about the third-year students but the school told them not to worry because teachers are taking good care of them. It is irresponsible of them to say such nonsense that five to six teachers will take care of 200 students safely. We also heard that the vice principal left after the first quake, too.”

Other students are also criticizing the teaching staff at their own nearby school with one from Gyeongju revealing online a text message sent to parents that they had been kept inside until after the second earthquake which was rated at 5.8 and occurred 50 minutes after the first.

Another student from an all-girls school also revealed that their warden had ordered them to stay inside their dorms, however, some ignored the request and left the building for safety in fear it would collapse on them.

Media reports that students are afraid of listening to their teachers’ orders in situations like this, referring back to the Sewol Ferry tragedy in April 2014 in which teachers told students to stay on the boat as it sank. Three hundred lives were lost as the ferry sunk, the majority of which were students from Danwon High School.

Source: Korea Times