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Subjects: CHI, ASI, VDM

Gaokao epitomizes China's 40 years of progress


BEIJING, June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on Gaokao, the national college entrance examination in China:

On June 7 to 8, 9.75 million students in China will take the most important exam in their lives. That is the National College Entrance Examination, more commonly known as the Gaokao.

For almost all Chinese students, the Gaokao is the only gateway to higher education. The exam consists of the compulsory subjects of Chinese, mathematics and a foreign language. It also includes one subject from either the natural sciences, including physics, chemistry and biology, or a social science subject, including history, politics and geography. The total score of the exam is 750 in most localities, and students will apply for colleges based on the marks they obtain. The number of students sitting the test this year is said to have reached an eight-year high.

The re-introduction of the Gaokao brought about profound changes to China. During the decade before 1977, only a few people were enrolled in colleges by means of recommendation. In 1977, to address the shortage of skilled labor, China resumed the Gaokao, to provide equal opportunities for all the students. The students who achieved excellent results got admitted to colleges and thus became the backbones of different professions after graduation. While contributing to the country's modernization, they also experienced a transformation in their own lives.

Initially, majors like mathematics and physics enjoyed great popularity. In the 1980s and 1990s, economics, law, international business and I.T. became more sought-after as the reform and opening-up was pushing forward. Today, among the trendy majors are big data, robotics, minority languages spoken in the countries along the Belt and Road, and midwifery studies, which sprang from the end of the one-child policy. Students' choice of majors is a reflection of China's social development.

Over the past four decades, more than 100 million students have gained access to higher education through the Gaokao. While changing their own lives, they have played an essential role in promoting China's reform and opening-up as well as economic development. The admission rate of the Gaokao has increased from the initial 5 percent to 80 percent today. In particular, the figure for disadvantaged central and western regions has been rising for many years. The Gaokao is an important means to advance both economic development and social justice in China.

We hope all the examinees this year can perform well and realize their dreams.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Gaokao epitomizes China's 40 years of progress
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2018-06/07/content_51766502.htm

About China.org.cn

Founded in 2000, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn/China.com.cn) is a key state news website under the auspices of the State Council Information Office, and is managed by China International Publishing Group. We provide round-the-clock news service in ten languages. With users from more than 200 countries and regions, we have become China's leading multi-lingual news outlet introducing the country to the outside world.

We are one of the country's authoritative outlets for government press releases and are authorized to cover various major events. "Live Webcast" is our online webcasting service to present State Council Information Office press conferences in both Chinese and English languages. We are reputed for timely and accurate delivery of news and information, and wide interactions with audiences. In addition, we are authorized to publish and live broadcast major events and press conferences of ministries, local government agencies and institutions as well as enterprises.

In the era of mobile internet, we endeavor to create an array of products for mobile devices headed by the multilingual WAP platform and the mobile APP. We also use Chinese and international social media to publish information for different user groups.

In the future, CIIC will continue to offer authoritative information about China, tell China's stories, voice China's opinions, and introduce a vivid, panoramic and multicultural China to the world through multi-language, multi-media and multi-platforms.

SOURCE China.org.cn



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