Education official clarifies media report on ‘political evaluation’ of students

A Chongqing education official dismissed a media report about the “political evaluation” of gaokao (national college entrance examinations) takers, saying the reporter misinterpreted the term.

The education test center of Chongqing in Southwest China said that any candidate who does not pass a political evaluation cannot be admitted by universities and colleges, local media Chongqing Daily reported on Thursday.

But Luo Shengqi, the office director of the center, told inewsweek.cn that the city has done evaluations of candidates’ political thought and their performance in real life for years.

“There is no change in the document. It is the reporter who misinterpreted the term,” Luo said.

It is not clear whether any exam taker has been rejected by university due to the failure in the evaluation, Luo said.

The evaluation comes from high schools, which are responsible for evaluating the political attitudes, ideology, morality, study and performance of students, according to Chongqing Daily’s report, which says that having bad moral character or being involved in criminal activities may lead to failure in the evaluation.

In addition, candidates who apply for colleges for military police, public security and with special requirements will be re-examined by the public security department and schools.

A Chinese netizen commented that the political evaluation will be a good thing if students with records of school violence can be rejected by universities or colleges.

After the media reports were published, there have been voices online that call for a clearer explanation of the policies on the evaluation system of gaokao takers in Chongqing.

The local education authorities in Chongqing should clear the misunderstandings on this matter, some commented.