What’s trending?

In March, the Ministry of Education decided to postpone this year’s gaokao, China’s college entrance exam, by a month to July 7-8. As the Covid-19 resurgence in Beijing continues to evolve, officials recently made modifications to gaokao arrangements in order to ensure the health and safety of students and teachers.

What’s the story?

With the exception of a few cities undergoing gaokao reform, the standardized exams last about 11 hours over a period of 2 days and largely determine students’ choice of college. According to the Ministry of Education, this year’s gaokao involves 10.7 million students and 945 thousand education officials and staff spread out over 7,000 test sites across the country. It will be “the largest organized mass gathering in China” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Officials have announced a series of public health precautions to be implemented at gaokao test sites. Notably, students and teachers must monitor and report their health conditions starting from 14 days prior to the test. Students in low-risk areas must wear a mask when entering test centers, while those in middle- and high-risk areas must do so throughout the exam. Students will be moved to separate classrooms if they display a fever or cough during the exam. Test centers must carry out temperature checks of all personnel and thoroughly disinfect all areas before the exams begin.

What are people saying online?

Netizens have widely characterized this year’s gaokao as “unprecedented” and this class of high school seniors as “facing the most difficulties.” They encourage students to relax and do their best in the exam that is the culmination of their high school education.

Others are slightly worried about how public health measures may add to students’ stress. They say that students now have to worry if they show symptoms of a common cold on top of answering test questions.

Contact editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)