Nearly 11 million stressed out students sit for ‘gaokao’ – the country’s gruelling annual college entrance exam.
Over 7,000 exam sites have been set up across China amid the pandemic
Nearly 11 million stressedout Chinese students began taking the country’s gruelling annual college entrance exam following a month-long coronavirus delay, with inspectors this year checking both for cheaters and fevers.
The two-day test – known in Chinese as the “gaokao” – is an annual moment of great anxiety for students and parents who dream of sending their children to university, but the coronavirus added another layer of pressure by closing schools for months.
At a testing centre in Beijing, students took selfies and exchanged hugs and high-fives with family and friends before going in for the exam.
In a sign of the high stakes, some even stood outside the venue, poring over their study materials for some 11th-hour cramming.
“I’m actually more nervous than my son,” said a 49-year-old parent who gave her surname, Yi.
“The pandemic did impact him. He hasn’t gone to school for seven months since the school closed in January. He is too young to swiftly adapt to these big changes in our society.”
At the gate of a test site at Shanghai Jincai High School, some teachers and school leaders from the Shanghai Experimental School wore red T-shirts – a colour that represents good luck and prosperity in China – to show their support to the students.
“The senior year at high school is filled with challenges, and it is more stressful this year as the exam is delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’ve been focused on psychological counselling for students, and so far, they are in a stable mood,” said a teacher surnamed Shi from the Shanghai Experimental School to local media.
At the test site at the Yichuan High School, some candidates from Shanghai Cao Yang No. 2 High School were wearing red masks with Chinese characters “feng kao bi sheng”, meaning “passing every exam” on them. The masks were given by the teachers.
This is a special year where wearing masks is the norm, and these gifts show teachers’ care and encouragement to students, Qian Meili, a teacher from the school, told local media.
More than 7,000 exam sites have been set up across China, with nearly one million invigilators or other workers to watch over the students, according to state media.
Officials will not just be looking for cheaters. They will be watching if students have fevers or coughs.
Test-takers who show symptoms will be taken to an isolation room with disinfectant.
The students and invigilators had to track their health during the 14 days prior to the exam. Students from high-risk areas have to wear masks during the tests.
Zhao Kexin, who is taking the exam in Beijing, had to report her temperature to her school every day leading up to the exam.
“Though there are enough measures to protect us from contracting the virus, I am still feeling a bit nervous about gathering in a public area, but I have to take the test,” Zhao said.
A new outbreak in Beijing last month raised fears of a second wave but authorities appear to have brought it under control.
Xiao Wang, an 18-year-old student in southwestern Sichuan province, was able to focus on her studies again as nationwide cases were brought under control in the spring.
“But the recent cases in Beijing made me worried again,” Xiao said.