China’s high school grads compete for elite schools in an increasingly competitive job market

Chinese teens compete for entry to elite schools

BEIJING — The 14-hour study sessions were over but the nerves remained for Tong Dan as she squeezed in some last-minute cramming during a lunch break Monday from the most important test she and millions of other Chinese teens will ever take.

Each year, about 10 million high school seniors across China take the “gaokao” — the exam that is the sole determinant for whether they get into a university. About 68 percent of test takers this year are expected to pass — but for the vast majority who don’t it means they head straight into the search for a low-paying, blue-collar job.

But even a college degree no longer guarantees graduates a good job in China’s increasingly competitive workplace. With about 700,000 of last year’s university graduates still unemployed, there is added pressure on students like 17-year-old Tong to do well on the two-day college entrance exam and gain one of the few coveted slots at the country’s elite schools.

China has poured billions of dollars into a massive university expansion plan over the past few decades, meaning the number of graduates will skyrocket to a record 6.3 million this year, compared to 1 million in 1998. The expansion has also led to a widening gap between the quality of education found in many universities, especially those in poorer provinces, and the top schools.

“Students only want to go to (top schools) because they think those graduates are more likely to find jobs. But those spaces are limited and most (other) universities inadequately prepare students for the work force,” said Zhang Juwei, deputy director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

That leads to massive pressure on students to do well on the gaokao, with extra evening study sessions focussing on rote memorization and essay preparation considered essential in the months leading up to the exam.

“I want to get into the Beijing Dance Academy, so I can find a job as a teacher after graduation,” said Tong, who is from a rural town in nearby Shanxi province and goes to the Beijing International Arts School.

While most students ate or rested during Monday’s 3-hour afternoon break, Tong sat on a curb outside a downtown Beijing testing center and reviewed math questions with her mother, Guo Caihong.

For Guo, like many parents, hopes for a better future for her family rest on her only child’s shoulders. Guo, 41, took a 16-hour train ride from their hometown of Yuncheng earlier this month and rented a hotel room, all to help support her daughter.

“Hopefully her test results won’t reflect her nerves,” Guo said, said looking more nervous than her pigtailed daughter.

Job market worries and increased competition for slots at top schools mean more students, especially those with the financial means, are looking overseas for a university education. In 2009, 27 percent more Chinese students, about 229,000, chose to study abroad compared to the previous year, according to the official China Daily newspaper.

The government has recognized the stress students face and officials have announced plans to take another look at the generations-old tradition used to winnow a massive population into a small educated elite.

Ministry of Education officials announced plans earlier this year to allow students to take subject-specific tests and introduce other measures besides the exam, such as considering leadership and volunteer experience, to decide on how students get into college.

“Students should not be judged on one score alone and universities are slowly beginning to see that,” said Zhang. “China is still working on plans to change the system, but it won’t happen overnight.”