Fine arts hopefuls undergo evaluation

The season of recruiting fine arts students for the coming school year kicked off in China over the weekend, with about 53 colleges and universities preparing to choose future students, China Central Television (CCTV) reported Monday.

According to regulations from the Ministry of Education, fine arts students can account for no more than 1 percent of a school's student body in 2013. Beijing and Shanghai universities are the first to take steps toward enrollment.

In Beijing, these candidates, specializing in painting, music or dance to name a few, began undergoing evaluations over the weekend, the Beijing Evening News reported Saturday. Testing will also be held over the upcoming weekend.

Test takers in Beijing perform their craft before experts who judge their work. The evaluation system is designed to be as fair as possible. For example, a curtain separates the music students and the experts to avoid any favoritism.

Beijing, along with about one-third of China's regions, municipalities and provinces, relies on this system for enrolling fine arts students in its schools, CCTV reported.

"Colleges can only enroll fine arts students who pass the general tests. If a student doesn't pass, schools are not allowed to enroll that student," said Wang Huashen, the director of the admissions office of Beijing Jiaotong University.

But this model is not adopted throughout the country, giving that student another chance.

"Shanghai doesn't use the general tests, and the enrollment of fine arts students is up to colleges' own evaluation systems," explained Wei Lidong, director of the admissions office at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. "This gives schools freedom in choosing students."