中国恢复高考35年

Tertiary education entrance examinations started in the early years when modern universities emerged in China and a national examination system was established in 1952. But when the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, the normal pace of the education system was disrupted.

During the decade of the Cultural Revolution, many young Chinese lost the chance to study. When Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping reinstated the gaokao in 1977, about 5.7 million Chinese competed for 270,000 university places that year.

Yuan Zhenguo, who is now the head of the National Institute of Education Sciences, was one of the 5.7 million students attending the gaokao in 1977.

"Attending the gaokao in 1977 remains clear in my mind. At that time I was working as farmer in the countryside. When we got to know that we could get the chance to enter college, we were so excited and happy."

Like Yuan Zhenguo, many then students entered college and have become policy makers working in different government offices. Over the past decades, more than 70 million students in China have gone to universities through the gaokao.

Chinese people describe the pressure of the gaokao as "thousands of troops on a single-log bridge," because in Chinese society, whether you have a university degree, or a degree from good university weighs heavily at the beginning of one's career. For many students in poverty-stricken rural areas, the tough exam is their only opportunity to escape the rigors of country life.
Although the gaokao has been renovated and becoming more fair, transparent and scientific, a lot of doubt and criticism remain. The call for reform has been growing.

For example, they debate how to make the gaokao less influential in a person's life; whether migrant students should be allowed to take the gaokao in the place where they live rather than where they have their household registration and how to regulate bonus points for special students.

Yuan Zhengu, the head of the National Institute of Education Sciences says the gaokao closely influences almost all families, students and society as a whole and that any reform of the exam should be done carefully and methodically.

"Some people say changing the gaokao should be done thoroughly and more quickly, while others believe it should be done traditionally with bonus points. With no bonus points, students prove their merit and being enrolled in college is due to their talent. They think that would be fair."

According to the Ministry of Education, one of its key targets in 2012 is a reform plan for college enrollment.

For instance, Minister of Education Yuan Guiren says the ministry is urging local education authorities to release plans by the end of this year to enable migrant workers' children to take the exam in the city where they live, not where they are registered.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.