Chinese parents feed stimulants to teens to pass senior high school entrance exams
WeChat parents’ group openly discuss cheating with drugs to boost scores in fitness test component of ‘Zhongkao’
Stimulants are not only the bane of athletics, but a growing number of Chinese middle school pupils and their parents are using them to cheat in a senior high school entrance exam by boosting their scores in the physical fitness test component, according to state-owned media.
While the Gaokao (“high test”) college entrance exam is regarded by Chinese parents as the test that determines their children’s future, the Zhongkao (“middle test”) also drives some parents to take extreme steps to get their children into a better senior high school.
As reported by Banyuetan magazine on Wednesday, two mothers asked their sons to start taking medicine containing the stimulant ephedrine to cheat in the test.
The fitness test was introduced into the Zhongkao in 2007, with the aim of developing teenagers’ interest in sports and help them stay healthy. Pupils must complete various skills such as running, skipping rope and long jumping to certain standards.
“Fifty points in the exam is enough to change a person’s life,” one of the women, surnamed Zhang, was quoted as saying in the report.