Authorities mull gaokao reform

China will soon unveil a reform plan on the national college entrance examinations (gaokao), considering two separate test modes for technical and academic students, an education official revealed Saturday.

The first mode, targeting technically inclined students, such as those who want to become engineers, senior mechanics and high-quality laborers, will assess the candidates' technical skills and textbook knowledge in combination, Vice Education Minister Lu Xin said at a forum.

The second mode, the current practice throughout the country, tests only textbook knowledge. The mode applies to academically inclined students, according to Lu.

She didn't reveal exactly when the plan will be enacted.

Potential college-goers can only choose their majors after they pass a uniform gaokao under the current system, which may thwart the higher education chances of those who are especially talented in certain technical fields but not good at taking exams.

"At the age of 16, the students can decide their future development modes even when they are in high school," Lu explained.

About 17 million high school and college graduates enter China's labor market every year. But the nation is suffering from the fact that it is hard for college graduates to find jobs and from an extremely short supply of technical talents, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Under a pilot program, 14 million students entered higher education institutes through the first technical-focused mode in 2013, said Lu.

The ministry will call on about 600 local universities, which account for 50 percent of the total in China, to transfer their teaching modes from academic education to applied technology and vocational education, said Lu.

This means their education should be designed according to the requirements of specific jobs, and 150 universities have applied to take part in the new reform, Lu said, The Beijing News reported on Sunday.

During the reform, the function of the market will be fully used to run these schools on multiple modes, including shareholding and mixed ownership systems, Lu said.

"The reform follows the mainstream of higher education around the world and could push universities to foster more useful talents," Lao Kaisheng, an education professor with Capital Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Huang Shihu, a father of a 12th-grade student in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Sunday that he believes his son will be able to sit the gaokao according to his interests and capabilities.

"I don't think the plan is what most Chinese parents want. We expect our children to have higher degrees in their diplomas, so the technical mode will be our last choice," Wang Hongcai, a father of a 10th-grade student in Fujian Province, told the Global Times.

Fan Bin, an 11th-grade student in Luonan county, Shaanxi Province, said he was worried that students like him will be at a disadvantage in the technical mode exams.

"High schools in our small cities have fewer possibilities to give us technical training," Fan told the Global Times.

Xinhua contributed to this story