Every year a large number of school children in China sit for the national college entrance examination, known as ‘Kaohao’. Lakhs of students appear for this four-day-long Caokhao exam, trying to score the highest marks to get admission in the best and most prestigious universities of the country. Through this examination, students are helped to decide their educational and professional future.
Every province of the country conducts this examination once a year in its own way. This exam is held from 7 to 10 June across the country. Three subjects are most important for the students taking this exam, first Chinese language, second mathematics and third any foreign language. After that, they have to appear for some selected subjects of Arts and Science stream. The Chinese believe that this test is not easy.
apply to universities
On the other hand, if the Ministry of Education of China is to be believed, this year around 1 crore 29 lakh students have registered for this college entrance examination across China. This number is more than 9 lakh 80 thousand as compared to last year.
Since students are admitted to colleges and universities only after passing the Caokhao exam, the pressure is on Chinese students as well as their parents. High school education in China is of three years, i.e. 10th, 11th and 12th… That’s why only students of the third year of high school i.e. 12th class students usually sit for this exam. Results are declared after 20 days of the exam.
There are two ways to apply to Chinese universities. The first way is for students to choose the first 6 universities from Caokhao, and apply to the universities that have been selected. And the second way is that after the result of Caokhao, students choose 6 universities on the basis of their marks, and then apply for admission in those universities. After the declaration of the results of the examination, each university comes out with its own cut-off list and on the basis of that the students are admitted.
cao khao restarted
Let us tell you that before the year 1949, there was no system of Caokhao in China. All the universities in the country used to admit students on the basis of their needs. Due to the Great Cultural Revolution in the year 1966, this examination was stopped, but with the end of this revolution in the year 1976, this examination was started again from the year 1977.
No need for other entrance exam
In India, students have to appear for a separate entrance test to get admission in a medical or engineering college, but there is no such system in China. Here, to get admission in engineering or medical, the result of Caokhao is also accepted as the basis. In this way, Chinese students here are saved from preparing for repeated exams and take admission in their favorite university in one go on the basis of their merit.
Keeping an eye on copycats
Caokhao determines the entire condition and direction of the career of Chinese children. This is the reason why the Chinese government is very serious about this examination and strict arrangements are made to conduct it fairly. It is generally seen that almost the entire responsibility of the examination rests with the Ministry of Education.
At the same time, something similar is happening in India too, but China, going a step ahead, has activated the Ministry of National Security and the State Internet Information Office, apart from the Ministry of Education.
It is the collective responsibility of all of them not to allow any kind of disturbance in the examination. They are solely responsible for any kind of lapse. Not only this, during the examination, the Chinese administration also issues a special helpline number for the common people, with the help of which the government can be informed about any kind of disturbance.
Common police are deployed to conduct the examination smoothly and to maintain the fairness of the examination. Dedicated technicians are deployed at each exam centre, they have special signal checking equipment. Due to this no student can even think of copying through any electronic signal.
Apart from these, some examination centers are also monitored by ‘drones’, which circle at a height of 500 meters above the examination centers, capturing the entire scene, and giving moment-to-moment information to the administration.
(Akhil Parashar, China Media Group, Beijing)
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