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China can level its education playing field by letting non-profit online academies bloom
- Over 10 million Chinese students have just taken the university entrance exams, a system that seems fair but is shot through with inequality, exacerbated by the rise of private tutoring
- High-quality, non-profit online tutoring could help underprivileged students make the cut
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China’s university entrance examinations (gaokao), held earlier this week, are seen by most of the 10.8 million registered students and their parents as life determining. As more than 80 per cent of exam takers progress to some form of higher education, what is the big deal?
This high admission rate is inclusive of those enrolling in China’s vocational colleges. The admission rate into four-year university degree programmes is about 44 per cent, with large regional variations – ranging from 33 per cent in Henan to 76 per cent in Beijing.
But not all degrees are equal. At “tier one” universities, the admission rate is around 24 per cent, with even greater variations across regions, from Guangdong’s 15 per cent (the lowest is Guangxi at 10 per cent) to Beijing’s 46 per cent (the highest).
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At the top of “tier one” universities are institutions under the government’s “985” and “211” projects which can be entry tickets for prestigious jobs. However, less than 2 per cent of exam takers from most provinces (1.3 per cent for Guangdong) gain entrance to “985” universities. The notable exceptions are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, where 4.3 per cent to 5.8 per cent of exam takers gain university places in this top league.
In such an environment, 17 per cent of the students taking the gaokao this year – 1.9 million – are retaking the exam with an eye on getting into better universities.
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Chinese students in nervous wait for results of ‘make or break’ gaokao university entrance exams
Chinese students in nervous wait for results of ‘make or break’ gaokao university entrance exams
For those with the means, getting into the upper echelons of the global pyramid of higher education outside China is often easier. But, for most, the gaokao is the main path to upward mobility or just staying in the middle classes.
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