Does the timing of the college entrance examinations matter?

Since 2003, these exams have been rescheduled to June in order to escape the scorching heat of July and circumvent routine natural phenomena such as floods.

Now, parents have requested the authorities to schedule the exams over the first weekend in June, as opposed to fixed dates which often fall on workdays.

They have also sought a two-day holiday to escort and wait for their wards near the examination halls in case these exams continue to be held on workdays.

Responding to the request, the Ministry of Education has said it would conduct a feasibility study on the matter.

These exams are widely regarded as one of the engines that drove China's remarkable growth in the 30 years since it was restored during the initial reforms era.

The exam score is the only criterion universities and colleges consider while selecting applicants. No doubt, these exams play a central role in deciding where a candidate will study.

But it also encourages rote learning and puts too much pressure on the already overburdened adolescents. Parents too pin very high hopes on their offspring, mostly their only child.

Many personally drive their children to these exam halls or book hotels close to the exam venues beforehand.

Drivers along the roads close to the exam venues are reminded not to honk; construction sites are shut; flight paths of commercial aircraft are altered lest they disturb the test takers.

The nation literally holds its breath during the test days.

If these entrance exam scores are made just a part of, and not the only criteria for college admissions, then this collective anxiety may be safely avoided.

(China Daily 06/10/2010 page8)