[Correspondent Diary] China's Gaokao War

Ministry of Education's Zero Tolerance on Admission Fraud, Market Management Bureau's Crackdown on Overcharging, Strengthened Quarantine at Exam Sites by Weiguanwei
China's COVID-19 Prevention and Control Direction Expected to Be Decided After Gaokao

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China is facing the 'Gaokao (高考)' battle this week. Gaokao is the Chinese version of the college scholastic ability test. Since lives change depending on the results, the entire country heats up every year during the exam season. This year, the number of examinees is the largest ever at 11.93 million. From the 7th to the 8th, 11,930,000 students will take the exam at more than 330,000 test centers nationwide.

Photo by Baidu Capture

Before the exam, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued an urgent notice (warning) on the 3rd. The Ministry stated that cheating in the entrance exam is a serious legal violation and listed various cheating cases. It warned that last year, a student was caught taking photos of exam questions with a smartphone and sending them outside, resulting in disqualification and a three-year ban from taking the exam. The Ministry declared a zero-tolerance policy on cheating such as using wireless devices, proxy testing, and identity theft of examinees, stating that offenders could face up to seven years in prison, thus declaring war on cheating.

The war against Gaokao price gouging has also begun. During the exam season, hotel prices around test centers skyrocket. On the 2nd, a hotel package price for high school seniors caused controversy online in China. A hotel in Xi'an offered an exam package priced at 3,699 yuan (about 700,000 KRW), sparking public outrage. Chinese media Shangliu News reported that the phenomenon of accommodation fees rising up to tenfold before Gaokao repeats every year, and that the commercial exploitation of parents' concerns has not improved. The media pointed out that the price hikes of lodging facilities during the exam season are unfair practices due to collusion and called for strict crackdowns. Although the Market Supervision Administration launched an investigation, covert transactions make enforcement difficult.

This year, unlike previous years, China must also fight against COVID-19. In 2020, when COVID-19 first broke out, Gaokao was postponed by a month, but last year it was held normally. Since 11.93 million people gather at the same time nationwide, there is a risk that the 'zero-COVID' policy could be compromised. The reality is that there is also a risk of COVID-19 spreading again despite the enormous costs spent to contain it. In Beijing, the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Education are on high alert, conducting exams in general test centers, closed-loop test centers, and test centers within centralized quarantine facilities.

Inside China, there are expectations that controls will be completely lifted after Gaokao, but concerns remain that a resurgence could occur. Therefore, there are forecasts that restrictions will be lifted two weeks after the exam ends.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.