Why is gaokao so hard?

The gruelling exam is a culmination of years of schooling, memorisation and constant stress. While college entrance exams are competitive and hard in any country, in China, the top universities can select as few as one in 50,000 students.

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The three-digit exam score is responsible for determining not only students’ careers but also marriage prospects among other future goals. But for the less successful, the system can prove to be brutal. This college entrance exam takes place for two days in early June each year, during which it seems like entire China comes to a standstill. The Gaokao is very much treated like a national event on par with a public holiday — just that it’s much less enjoyable for students. In fact, one Chinese saying even compares the exam to a stampede of “thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses across a single log bridge.” According to media reports, the country comes to a grinding halt. Construction work is halted near examination halls and traffic is diverted, so as to not disturb students taking the exam. The police patrol to ensure that the streets remain quiet during the time of the exam. Ambulances are kept on standby in case of nervous collapses. Radio talk show hosts discuss the format and questions of the exam in great detail. When the results are finally announced, top scores are announced and celebrated nationally.

The immense pressure on students

For many students, the word Gaokao is introduced to them when they’re in the primary school itself. The gruelling exam is a culmination of years of schooling, memorisation and constant stress. While college entrance exams are competitive and hard in any country, in China, the top universities can select as few as one in 50,000 students Due to the high stakes, many students resort to cheating. Spy cameras, radio devices and earpieces that transmit questions and receive answers have been found hidden in jewellery, wallets, pens and even underwear. Because of this, many examination rooms install CCTV cameras and use metal detectors. Professional exam takers have also been exposed to posing as students taking the exam while receiving huge amounts of money from the students’ parents. To prevent any and all of this, regulations have been set up that could sentence someone who cheats to up to seven years in prison. The Gaokao has been criticized by the West on many occasions as they perceive the test to be an example of rote-learning that doesn’t let students explore their creative side and critical thought. Gaokao can be compared to the American SAT, except that it’s twice as long, lasting for nine hours. To prepare for the exam, students have been reportedly found studying in hospitals, hooked up to oxygen containers , in order to improve their concentration. Some girls even take contraceptives to not get their period during exam season. Parents, on their part, promise to reward their children with fancy gifts or a significant amount of money. “My father even promised me, if I get into a college like Nankai University in Tianjin, ‘I’ll give you a prize, an Audi,’” Chen Qiong, a student taking the exam in Beijing was quoted in The New York Times report

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The pressure on parents, teachers and students themselves is overwhelming. While it is possible to take the exam multiple times, repeatedly not doing well can prove to be hazardous as there is no other alternative route to university. This results in many students committing suicide because of the extreme pressure. A 2014 study found that stress was a contributing factor in 93 per cent of cases in which school students took their own lives.

The Covid conundrum

Gaokao is already stressful, and when Covid is added on top of that, getting to college seems more and more beyond reach. Dubbed as the generation of the Covid-19 era, high school graduates of China this year have gone through a more challenging path in the past two years of fighting the pandemic. High school studies have been disrupted for three years for these students because of lockdowns and periods of remote learning. Many feel that high school seniors in cities are at an advantage due to fewer lockdowns. Under China’s “zero Covid” policy, even one positive case at a school could put everyone into quarantine. To prevent an outbreak, many schools haven’t allowed students and teachers to leave campus. This year, 120 students are taking Gaokao in quarantine centres, while 700 students are attempting it from other types of lockdowns, according to China’s Ministry of Education . In adherence to the epidemic prevention measures issued by the government, the schools are recording body temperature data and the daily itinerary of the students. The measures also require parents to submit their health codes. Combined with Covid restrictions, there has been an effort to infuse more patriotic education into the curriculum. Chinese universities have been told to resist following the pattern of universities abroad with many being prompted to opt-out of foreign rankings, which could impact further studies.

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