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China’s Covid-19 era students prepare for gaokao college exams in record numbers
- After two years of pandemic restrictions, the class of 2022 is about to take the test that can make or break a young person’s future
- About 11.93 million students are sitting the exams this year, most of them next week but Shanghai will hold them a month later
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A record number of Chinese students are set to take this year’s national college entrance exams as the country battles its worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years. Many have spent the bulk of their high school studies under pandemic restrictions.
About 11.93 million students – 1.15 million more than last year – are expected to sit the exams this year, most of them between June 7 and 10, according to the Ministry of Education. Shanghai, which recently ended months of lockdown, is set to hold them a month later.
In China, the national college entrance exams – gaokao – are taken by most high school students hoping for an undergraduate education. It is widely considered the country’s most important exam, which can make or break a young person’s future.
The exam is a pivotal moment, in large part determining whether Chinese students can go to university, which institutions they will be admitted to, and what careers await them.
Most of this year’s entrants started high school in September 2019, months before the Covid-19 pandemic which has plagued their education journey. They have adapted to remote learning, pandemic restrictions, psychological pressure and sometimes even food shortages.
“The pandemic has greatly affected my high school life and studies,” said Bobo, a student in Xinjiang. “The studying time [for new knowledge] is only two years, but our class of 2022 has been in lockdown for eight months.”
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