The gap between enrollment rates in different provinces is decreasing

If you could wind back the clock and revisit your past, would you want to be 18 again? It is a tempting thought on many levels, but for Gao Jing the answer is an emphatic NO. The reason is simple: this was the age when she had to take her gaokao - China's national college entrance exam.

The gaokao is widely regarded as the single examination that defines a student's fate. The exam scores determine which college a student will go to and it also influences their social standing in the future. In a country which still struggles to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, it is the opportunity that every student has to take seriously.

"You don't want to ruin your only chance," Gao said. Looking back, the 25-year-old from Shandong Province said that the two-day examination is her "most stressful experience to date" as any mistake during the two days might ruin all her hard work in her high school, or even longer. "Many of us students have the goal of going to good universities ever since we go to primary school," said Gao.

The pressure is still there on students even today. In 2014, 9.39 million students registered to sit for the college entrance exam with a maximum achievable score of 750 points. In some populous provinces such as Henan, one extra point can mean beating up to 1,600 competitors. With such fierce competition, according to some observers, Chinese high school students spend twice the amount of time on their studies than their American counterparts.

The gaokao is not only stressful for students, but also places a massive strain on China's education authority responsible for the selection system that affects the future of millions of young people.

Now the most comprehensive reform since the gaokao was reintroduced in 1977 is underway. A plan was released by the State Council on September 4 to overhaul the college entrance examination and enrollment system. For many it is about time. 

Long-awaited reform

The new gaokao reform plan is the latest step in the country's overall development program - the National Outline for Medium and Long-Term Educational Reform and Development (2010-20), which aims at finding solutions to the challenges facing education in the country.

The outline pledges to increase government expenditure on education and promote fair distribution of educational resources, focusing on the development of education - ranging from pre-school to vocational.

The reform of the annual college entrance exam and enrollment system is being most closely watched by the public due to the exam's life-changing role. It took three years and four revised versions before the final draft was ready.

According to the Ministry of Education, this round of reforms is intended to ease the pressure on students and promote fairness and transparency. 

Equal opportunity

In the plan issued by the State Council, around half of the clauses concern educational fairness.

"Education reform is a complex project involving all levels of society. It's reasonable for the Central Government to have educational fairness, the top concern of the public, as its first priority," said Yang Dongping, Professor at Beijing Institute of Technology.

Vice Education Minister Du Yubo said that the government has been trying to narrow regional disparities for years. The gap between the provinces with the highest and the lowest enrollment rates (including vocational colleges) decreased from 39 percentage points in 1998 to 6 percentage points in 2013. The new reform sets a target of 4 percentage points by 2017.

This will tip the scale in favor of underprivileged groups, such as students from less developed central and west China, by setting up enrollment quotas for them.

Another focus is on students in underdeveloped remote regions, who have less chance than their city counterparts to enter top universities due to the regional differences in educational resources and quality. According to Yang's research, the proportion of rural students in top universities has declined since the 1990s; in the case of Peking University, the rate has declined to 10 percent from 30 percent.

The quotas will also be adjusted to increase the recruitment of students from heavily populated regions in order to balance the enrollment rate. For example, the 2014 undergraduate enrollment in Shandong Province is 42.8 percent, much lower than Beijing's 66.6 percent.

Those who consistently called for an end to the system where students could take the gaokao only where their permanent residence was registered did not find a satisfactory answer during this round of reform. But migrants do have something to smile about as their children will be allowed to take the gaokao in many places where they live, regardless of their birthplaces.

In addition, other measures include providing assistance for examinees with physical disabilities and discarding extra scores awarded for sports or artistic achievement. 

Less pressure

The "science or art" education system adopted by Chinese high schools since the 1970s also goes out of the windows. Currently, high school students have to choose either liberal arts or science majors in their first or second year.

Under the new scheme, all the subjects will become compulsary. Students' gaokao scores will include results in Chinese, mathematics, and English. The rest of the score will come from their test performance in three other subjects they select from history, geography, chemistry, biology, physics and politics. The selection is based on the university and degree they want to apply for. Students can take the English test twice and submit their highest score.

The aim is to come up with a more flexible evaluation mechanism based on both scores and all-around performances, according to Du. "We don't want their fate to be decided solely by grades or one single exam. We want to give them more chances and less pressure," the vice minister added.

The jury will be out for the next few years on whether this new reform achieves the desired results.

Shanghai and Zhejiang Province have been selected as two pilot areas, while the reformed system is expected to be implemented across the country in 2017.

Possibly by then, students like Gao Jing will have a different answer to the opening question.