Civil service test called 'unfair'

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-08 09:38

People wait outside to enter exam venues for civil servants tests in Beijing yesterday.

Some graduate students who attended the government's public service exam on Sunday are claiming it was unfairly biased to benefit Beijing residents.

As many as 56,000 people attended the exam yesterday, to compete for only 3,158 jobs.

The graduate-only public servant exam was canceled this year, with fresh graduates forced to sit the same test as those with work experience and a Beijing hukou.

In addition, a minimum of two years of work experience was required for most positions. Only 288 positions didn't require work experience, accounting for 30 percent of the total, reported the Beijing Evening News.

Civil service test called 'unfair'

Quan Quan, 25, a postgraduate student of Beijing Normal University, who took the exam at Beijing Xueyuanlu middle school, told METRO the exam was changing unfairly.

"Being a public servant is not as well paid as working in an enterprise. It is only attractive because it is very stable and provides a Beijing hukou," she said. "But this will become a form of regional protectionism when university students lose their right to apply."

Starting from next year, university graduates will be totally excluded from the exam and only those with work experience and permanent residence permits, will be eligible, according to Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

Many fresh graduates - especially non-Beijing natives - are unhappy with the upcoming policy since the public servant exam is regarded as a realistic way to get hold of a Beijing hukou.

Lou Xiao, a final-year student at China University of Petroleum, majoring in information management, believed the new policy would worsen the already chilly employment prospects for university leavers. "Graduates will lose yet another choice in their job hunt," he said.

In terms of the content of the recent exam, there was an abundance of topics covering issues of public concern. Questions such as skyrocketing housing prices, transforming Beijing into an international city and Beijing's monetary policy were included in the exam.

Although few participants said the exam was difficult, most felt certain of failure in light of heavy competition.