Nearly 13 million Chinese students take university entrance exams

China's college entrance exam set a record with nearly 13 million candidates taking it, as more than 11 million new graduates this summer face unprecedented unemployment concerns.

This year's Chinese college entrance exam (gaokao) takes place over two days, June 7-8.

China's Ministry of Education said last week that 12.91 million people had registered for the national college entrance exam, breaking last year's record of 11.93 million. The ministry has asked local authorities to do their best and asked the public security, industry and information technology ministries to work together to detect and crack down on cheating. Anyone caught cheating will face severe punishment.

This is considered the most fierce university entrance exam in the world because of the large number of candidates and the results greatly determine the future of each person. In rural areas, many families consider passing this exam the only way to change their lives.

According to many statistics, about 2% of more than ten million candidates win a place in the country's top 38 universities. For the two most prestigious schools, Tsinghua and Peking University, this rate is only 0.05%, or about 5,000 people.

Therefore, Chinese society pays much attention to the exam. From medical staff, traffic police to chefs, people are wholeheartedly supporting the candidates.

In Baise and Chongzuo cities in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, medical teams are on duty at each exam site. In Baise, special exam sites have been set up in hospitals to support candidates who have Covid or other health problems. In addition, agencies and people are required to control noise and prohibit honking near exam sites.

In Beijing, about 800 traffic police officers on motorbikes, wearing helmets, are ready to pick up and drop off students who might get stuck in traffic jams. The Shanxi provincial government has asked hotels not to raise prices as many students choose to rent rooms for a quiet time before the exam. If they violate the rules, landlords could be fined more than $700.

Meanwhile, schools organize many activities to help candidates feel comfortable before the exam.

Kunming No. 3 Middle School in Yunnan Province arranged a mountain climbing trip for students to give them a break from studying and exam anxiety. A high school cafeteria in Chongqing designed a menu with dishes that implied good luck. Each dish was given an auspicious name, such as “Red Success” for the tomato egg dish or “Soaring with Optimism” for the potato beef stew. The school said this was to give students positive energy.

Students at Dongmeng High School in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region prepare for the Gaokao. Photo: Yu Xiangquan — Students at Dongmeng High School in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region prepare for the Gaokao. Photo: *Yu Xiangquan*

China’s college entrance exams come amid a crisis in the country’s youth job market. The impact of Covid-19 has hit students in popular fields such as technology, education, real estate and finance hard. Economists predict that more and more people with college degrees will be unemployed.

In February, a survey in China showed that the unemployment rate for people aged 16-24 was 18.1%, the highest since August last year. The figure hit a new record of 20.4% in April, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, 11.6 million university students graduated this summer, up 820,000 from 2022.

According to SCMP, a recent graduate had to compete with 50 other candidates to win a job at a small company in Beijing. Xu Beibei, an artist at an online game company, said the team had recruited only four people, but received 200 applications.

Even a master’s degree from a top university has become a threshold for entry for many positions. Earlier this year, China Tobacco Henan, a cigarette maker, said nearly a third of its new hires had postgraduate degrees.

The Gaokao was first held in 1952. Candidates had to complete four exams, including: Chinese, Foreign Language, Mathematics and a combined exam in Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) or Social Sciences (Geography, History, Politics).

Dawn (According to China Daily, Xinhua )

Source link