Mainland authorities are ready to drop the net over a university entrance exam scam in Tianshui , Gansu province , that has implicated dozens of high school students, teachers and government officials.
The deputy director of the agricultural bureau of Yanggu county in Shandong province , Huo Jigang , was fired, and at least one teacher was detained in connection with the scandal, in which 23 senior middle school students in Yanggu sat the annual exam on behalf of other Shandong students registered in Tianshui.
While substitution scams have become common in tertiary entrance exams, the latest revelation highlights a troubled educational system that often pits students against each other for exam scores.
The scandal in Tianshui, labelled by investigators as being well planned and executed, came to light when exam overseers found some examinees failed to match the photos on their exam passes.
The students later confessed that they were 'phantom exam takers' using fake IDs.
The China Youth Daily, citing investigators, reported that the substitutes were recruited to make the trip to Tianshui to take the exams on behalf of other Shandong students who had bought local residence permits in the hope of meeting lower entrance requirements in Gansu.
Unfettered university expansion means a degree no longer guarantees a high-paying job, but fierce competition in the job market ensures that it is almost impossible to find a decent job on the mainland without one.