中国考生雅思成绩被取消

More than a thousand Chinese who took the International English Language Testing System test in July and August have been told their results would be delayed or permanently withheld.

The cancellation affects examinees mainly based in Changsha, Hunan Province and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

The test operator, the British Council accused them of "breaching IELTS test rules and regulations," but without further explanation.

A student from Nanjing, surnamed Song, is among the accused.

"I have no idea what I've done against their regulations. Even if I had breached the rules, I should be told what mistakes I made. You know the exam is expensive for a student."

Song has joined a Wechat group formed by the affected examinees.

The group has more than a hundred members. All of them have tried to get an explanation from the test operator, but all in vain.

An unnamed Shanghai student says he doesn't know what he can do now.

"Over the past two months, I have to think it over how to communicate with them every day. I've made phone calls and sent emails to any one that may help, but all in vain. I told the test organizer in my email that I would like to take an interview or a re-examination to prove my English capability. But they replied nothing but letting me wait."

Over a month after the test, the examinees still see no progress.

It's reported the examinees' results were cancelled mostly because of their different performace in two consecutive exams.

However, some Chinese experts warn the rash decision may wrong test takers.

Xiong Bingqi with the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

"It's not a reliable way to say a student cheats in the test only based on their performance in the exam."

Xiong Bingqi suggests the IELTS authority should fix loopholes in its scoring system rather than parrying the problem.

The IELTS test is organized by the University of Cambridge along with the British Council to verify candidates' proficiency in English.

It is an examination that one has to appear before applying to study or work in most of English-spoken countries.

Around two million people take the exam globally every year.

More than 600 thousand Chinese sat the test last year.