In 2018, the PRC’s Ministry of Education launched some programs dedicated to students from the most rural provinces. This has allowed about 8,500 more young people to enter university than in the previous year. Moreover, about 31 provinces decided to accept the application with student preferences only after they obtained the gaokao results, thus giving students greater visibility on the best choice to make. In Shanghai and Zhejiang, students from 2018 have the opportunity to be evaluatednot only for their gaokao score but also for their performance throughout the school year, similar to what happens in Italian high school.
In top of all these difficulties, this year Chinese students have to deal with the stop of lessons for about two months. E-learning platforms have been activated form some students but not for everyone have been very effective due to the lack of tools like pc, wifi connection, etc. With the postponement of the exam and the return to the classroom, the ministry hopes to be able to remedy the lost time. Will it be enough? Furthermore, coincidence or not, this year the IFAP – the independent freshman admission program started in 2003 – has come to an end. This program allowed universities to recruit students with excellent academic performance directly, without undergoing the national gaokao selection process. On the contrary, with the new program starting this year, 85% of what will be used for admission to university will be based on the result of the gaokao. Wu Xiaogang, a sociologist at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said that this will eliminate the corruption and favoritism that characterized IFAP. But the students who can’t cope with stress, who get agitated under pressure and cannot fully express their potential, and those who despite studying and committing themselves will not be able to achieve result high enough to access the university of their dreams … They will face their failure, perhaps the disappointment of their family. Ye Bin, aresearcher atEast China Normal University, in 2016 said that the high suicide rates during the gaokao period are fueled by the psychological pressure that candidates are subjected to. We just have to remind them that the failure of an exam does not determine their value.逆水行舟 (nìshuǐxíngzhōu), that is navigate against the current, keep going forward despite the obstacles, your moment will come.
