Annual College Entrance Exam Starts in China

Relatives of examinees of National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE) sit outside the exam center as they wait until the end of the exam at Yaohua Middle School in Tianjin, north China, June 7, 2012. The NCEE, also known as “gaokao” in Chinese, is regarded as a destiny-shaping event for high schoolers.

About 9.15 million people will take the exam on June 7 and 8 this year to vie for 6.85 million vacancies in the country’s universities and colleges, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education on Tuesday. This year’s admission rate is up nearly 3 percent year-on-year, and the number of exam takers is down by 2 percent, the statement said, adding that there are more applicants from relatively underprivileged western regions. <Xinhua>

Chinese students father outside a school to take an annual college entrance examinations in Beijing, China, Thursday, June 7, 2012, Around 9.15 million students throughout hina take the annual college entrance exams on Thursday and Friday, the Ministry of Education said. Chinese students help each other wear a pin with the words “exam must win” before enter their annual college entrance examinations at a school in Beijing, China Thursday, June 7, 2012. <AP/Newsis>

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