Schools warn of gaokao trouble

Dozens of parents of non-local high school students alleged Wednesday that schools had threatened to take action against their children if they did not withdraw their applications for the 2013 national college examinations (gaokao).

The deadline to apply for next year's test in Beijing was Wednesday. One parent, surnamed Liu, said her daughter's school, the No.18 Middle School of Beijing, Fengtai district, had warned her to cancel her daughter's online application, made on Monday.

"A school employee said if we don't cancel, my daughter can't attend classes," she said.

Liu's daughter's hukou (household registration) is held in Heilongjiang Province. According to current regulations, all non-locally registered students should sit the test where their hukou is registered.　

"If the Beijing Education Bureau had told us there is no hope for our children to sit the local gaokao earlier [this year], then we would have returned to Heilongjiang ages ago," Liu said, adding that the application deadline in Heilongjiang was on November 23.

Another parent, surnamed Zhang, said after her son, also registered in Heilongjiang, applied for the Beijing gaokao, staff from Beijing Xiangshan High School affiliated to Peking University asked to meet her.

"The school may be afraid of taking responsibility," she said.

An employee, surnamed Liu, from Beijing Xiangshan High School, confirmed they had spoken to Zhang.　

"We just wanted to clarify to the parents that having applied online doesn't mean the student can sit the exam," she said.

Zhao Guowei, media officer of Beijing Education Bureau said that they did not know anything concerning the schools' actions over this issue.

"Applicants must also take their Beijing hukou to the district gaokao admission offices, and if the students don't qualify, the fee is returned," he said.

According to the Beijing gaokao application notice for 2013, issued on November 21, applicants must either be a high school student with a Beijing hukou or a foreigner with a permanent resident permit.

Parents of non-locally registered children in Beijing have been waiting all year for a change to the gaokao regulations, which according to Minister for Education Yuan Guiren in March 2012, should be issued before the year's end.

"The new policy will be issued this year. Until then, everything is done according to the current policy," said Zhao.

"I really don't understand why the non-local parents have such a strong reaction to these gaokao registrations this year, since the current rules were in places for ages," said Zhao.

No.18 Middle School could not be reached.