Students with the spirit to succeed
Facing physical challenges, they continue to inspire as colleges try to meet their responsibilities, Fang Aiqing
There is no doubting the talent and expertise of musician Lai Jiajun, 25, who will start his doctorate program in piano performance in the United States this summer. Lai, who is visually impaired, is now learning with Michael Chertock, professor and piano department chairman of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.
Lai, from Xiaoshan district of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, moved to Beijing with his parents in 2004 to learn piano and entered the affiliated middle school of the Central Conservatory of Music in 2009.
He took the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, in 2015, and enrolled in the Central Conservatory of Music.
He ranked sixth in the conservatory’s professional competence test in March, and passed the admission level for Chinese language, mathematics, English and other academic subjects in the gaokao in June.
Earlier that year, the Ministry of Education released a regulation declaring equal opportunities for candidates dealing with physical challenges to take the gaokao, requiring national and provincial exam administrations to provide “essential support and reasonable facilities”.
For visually impaired candidates, that usually means providing a test paper in Braille or with larger fonts and allowing students to bring equipment that aids their visual acuity.
Candidates using Braille paper are also given a 50 percent extension in the duration of the exam.
Lai was the only such student in Beijing to take the gaokao that year.
Due to different educational programs in ordinary schools and those for the visually impaired — focusing mainly on occupational training — in terms of course design and toughness, it’s still hard for the visually impaired to participate in the gaokao.
According to China Central Television, only five visually impaired students nationwide took the exam in 2020, and news portal Chengdu.cn reported that there have only been 32 applications for Braille test papers in China since 2015.
Yet, a growing number of visually impaired students are seeking a professional education in the music field.
Some of them are likely to face obstacles in joining the provincial unified examination for music majors, which usually falls in winter.
A good performance in this exam enables students to either take part in the admission exams of mainstream music conservatories or directly apply for music majors at nonspecialist universities in spring.
They then need to pass the acceptance score for general academic subjects in the gaokao in June before they can be formally admitted to such a school.
So far, according to official websites of several mainstream music conservatories and the four provincial administrations’ education departments, Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and Shandong and Shaanxi provinces have not yet organized unified examinations for music majors, but Tianjin and Shandong have released documents claiming that they will be available from 2022.
Although visually impaired music students are still a small group, guaranteeing equal opportunities to participate in the college enrollment procedure is still an issue waiting to be resolved.
A test of patience
The unified examination for music majors of Heilongjiang province fell on Dec 12.
Piano student Wang Hongxu missed the exam on music theory, solfeggio and solo performance because the exam organizer failed to provide a test paper in Braille.
According to Wang and his mother, he explained his situation when registering for the exam in November and staff working for the organizer recorded it and said they would apply for a Braille test paper and an exam extension. However, he was informed on Nov 30 that there would be no Braille paper. Wang and his mother tried to get help from the provincial education administration and the disabled people’s federation, but to no avail.
Having played the piano since he was 8, Wang was hoping that taking the provincial unified examination would provide him with more options for a higher education.
Previously, he had also spent more than a year catching up with Chinese language, mathematics, English and liberal art subjects like history, geography and politics.
Wang Jianguo, a Harbin-based piano teacher who has been giving lessons to a student with physical challenges for more than 10 years, says, as far as he knows, most music conservatories in the country require a score from the provincial exam for candidates from Heilongjiang.
Wang Hongxu then prepared to take an exam for the special education college of Beijing Union University that took place last week.
The college and the special education college of Changchun University of Jilin province are among the few schools that have the facilities needed to regularly enroll and teach students with specialist requirements.
Not having to take the provincial unified examination, in a way, benefited Wang Qiuyi from Shandong province. She took the entrance examination of Shandong University of Arts in 2012.
Knowing her situation in advance, the university replied that it would accept her as long as she could meet their regular requirements.
The school set up an exam room especially for her, with three staff members: One read the test paper, one transcribed the answers for her and the last one supervised. In this way she was able to complete the music theory test.
Now she has achieved her master’s degree in piano performance from the university and started her own studio.
She has also released several original pieces and uploaded online courses on improvisational accompaniment.
In 2005, Dai Bo, now a composition teacher at the Central Conservatory of Music, was recommended to the institution without taking an exam from its affiliated middle school.
However, Wang Jianguo says Dai was a rare musical talent that few students could compete with.
Back in 2002, Wuhan-based Hu Haipeng took the college entrance examination for adults — one spe cially set for candidates not studying at a high school — because he was not able to take the normal enrollment exam without a Braille paper.
With the help of three exam invigilators, in a format similar to that of Wang Qiuyi, Hu completed both his music theory and academic tests.
He was enrolled into the Wuhan Conservatory of Music that year. He admits that he had received a lot of support from both the exam administration and the conservatory just to get a seat in the examination hall.
“While preferential policies were absent, it was a struggle determined by the resolution and actions of both visually impaired candidates and the conservatories themselves,” Hu says.
Leading the way
Visually impaired student Wang Yiwen, born in 2000, was admitted to the vocal department of the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music.
Her mother Wang Wei says she understood the criteria to take the exam in Henan province in 2016 soon after Wang Yiwen entered high school.
The province’s disabled people’s federation said that they could register for the exam normally, while asking the education department to contact the federation after registration.
The two provincial organizations, together with China Disabled Persons’ Federation in Beijing, then negotiated and started the procedure to produce the Braille paper for the music theory and solfeggio tests that would take place at the end of 2017 and 2018 separately.
Wang Yiwen took the provincial examination two years in a row, because she didn’t make it into her dream conservatory due to a height disadvantage in the first year.
As a result, staff members knowing both Braille and music from China Braille Library in Beijing were dispatched and transcribed Wang Yiwen’s answer paper to facilitate scoring.
A member of staff from the education and employment department of the provincial disabled people’s federation, surnamed Cui, still remembers Wang Yiwen’s case in 2017.
He says that they knew how to cope with the situation, partly because the first case of applying for a Braille test paper in the gaokao took place in Henan in 2014. He implied that other provinces may not have any idea on how to deal with similar situations the first time around.
Other “experienced” provinciallevel administrations include at least Anhui, Guangdong, Hubei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces, Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Ningxia Hui and Tibet autonomous regions.
During the second year, Wang Wei called other mainstream conservatories asking whether there was a chance for Wang Yiwen to participate in their enrollment exam.
She was rejected many times. Some said they couldn’t stop Wang Yiwen from joining the exam, but still they suggested that she not attend.
However, the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music extended an olive branch and managed to provide a Braille test paper.
Taking the test in early 2019, she ended up with the top ranking in the exam. That year, around one in 70 would be accepted for her major at the conservatory.
Ge Deping, deputy director of publicity department at the conservatory’s Party committee, says the conservatory did have concerns at first, but seeing Wang Yiwen’s persistence, musical talent and professional competence, they thought they should stay open to such an aspiring teenager.
Wang Wei says: “Taking the conservatory’s perspective, certainly they would have concerns: How to teach a student when the teachers didn’t know Braille?”
She accompanies Wang Yiwen full time and takes care of her daughter’s safety on campus.
The conservatory provides them with a separate dormitory and helped Wang Wei find a part-time job so that she can earn the money to cover their living expenses.
Wang Wei goes to class with her daughter, taking notes and recording slides.
After class, she transcribes them into Braille for Wang Yiwen to review. She also gets textbooks and reference materials from the teachers in advance to complete the transcription.
Wang Yiwen has performed well over the past three semesters. There’s no need to arrange special exam rooms for her any more.
Her mother will read out the questions in a low voice and write down the answers whispered back. With this method, they can finish the tests in time.
She mixes well with her classmates, rehearsing group dances and musicals together.
Wang Qiuyi also mentioned that enrolling in a regular university and spending time with others has made her feel more integrated.
Sheng Yuan, a piano professor from the Central Conservatory of Music, who has been devoted to helping visually impaired people get a musical education and employment opportunities, says he used to have two such students in class, both of whom completed his course well.
They came with their classmates every time. The only difference for Sheng was having to read out what was in books and on slides for them.
From Sheng’s perspective, it’s also an encouragement for sighted students to have visually impaired classmates. Seeing their diligence and excellent performance should provide inspiration for their compatriots.
As mother of a visually impaired child, Wang Wei says she always keeps in mind that they should plan in advance for everything, instead of waiting for, or even expecting, others to provide a solution.
When there’s no reference, she tries to find a possible solution and points a way for others to help them.
“Few would deliberately embarrass such a child. They will come as long as they know how to help,” she says.
The mother and daughter hope that their actions will give the impression that it’s not that inconvenient to have a visually impaired student on campus, so that talented, but challenged successors can possibly have another chance.
Few would deliberately embarrass such a child. They will come as long as they know how to help.”
Wang Wei, mother of a visually impaired student, Wang Yiwen, at the vocal department of the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music