Remote surveillance, special forces, SWAT teams, metal detectors, X-ray machines, armed police and sniffer dogs. What appears to be an anti-insurgency operation is in fact an exam vigil mounted this week in China. The Gaokao entrance exam for university courses taken by high school students in China is a benchmark of one’s life.
The high-profile exam taken by about 9.4 million people is a gargantuan logistics and security exercise. The size of the country and its varied geography make it a challenge for the authorities.
The test has now seeped into the Chinese social fabric in a way they would find it difficult to look at it critically. The exam, which goes back to imperial times, is seen in the country as a leveller for people of rural areas who have fewer life chances.
The purpose of education is often defeated by making it an exercise in drudgery. It is widely believed that education is about learning and acquiring information. This is mixing up means with the end.
The hugely competitive Gaokao is just one feature of what students in eastern societies have to go through. The part of the world — classified as a different civilisation by social scientists — is given more to rigour and strictness in education and upbringing. The Korean system of education has cram value as its key feature and students are pressed to the limits. This affects childhood and leads to physical illnesses and mental strain.
Education in its real sense is not only about learning but helping the individual develop a balanced personality. Learning and acquiring information are a means to hone the personality and have to be undertaken with that end in view.
Students appearing for Gaokao study for hours on end which takes a toll on their physical and mental health. The extreme competition as a result of a few university seats being eyed at by millions creates an unhealthy spirit of contest. Hence, the heightened security preparation to take on cheaters.
Students adopting unfair means face a jail term that may stretch to seven years. The criminalising of test rule violation and the war-level security are an overreach necessitated by the high stakes involved. Surperstitious parents carrying out weird rituals for the success of their wards in a largely secular Chinese society point to despondency and desperation.
The Chinese government should have a relook at the examination process and aim at moderation of its size and complexity. This would help authorities better manage the exam, rid the students of drudgery and lead to long-term social benefits.
Remote surveillance, special forces, SWAT teams, metal detectors, X-ray machines, armed police and sniffer dogs. What appears to be an anti-insurgency operation is in fact an exam vigil mounted this week in China. The Gaokao entrance exam for university courses taken by high school students in China is a benchmark of one’s life.
The high-profile exam taken by about 9.4 million people is a gargantuan logistics and security exercise. The size of the country and its varied geography make it a challenge for the authorities.
The test has now seeped into the Chinese social fabric in a way they would find it difficult to look at it critically. The exam, which goes back to imperial times, is seen in the country as a leveller for people of rural areas who have fewer life chances.
The purpose of education is often defeated by making it an exercise in drudgery. It is widely believed that education is about learning and acquiring information. This is mixing up means with the end.
The hugely competitive Gaokao is just one feature of what students in eastern societies have to go through. The part of the world — classified as a different civilisation by social scientists — is given more to rigour and strictness in education and upbringing. The Korean system of education has cram value as its key feature and students are pressed to the limits. This affects childhood and leads to physical illnesses and mental strain.
Education in its real sense is not only about learning but helping the individual develop a balanced personality. Learning and acquiring information are a means to hone the personality and have to be undertaken with that end in view.
Students appearing for Gaokao study for hours on end which takes a toll on their physical and mental health. The extreme competition as a result of a few university seats being eyed at by millions creates an unhealthy spirit of contest. Hence, the heightened security preparation to take on cheaters.
Students adopting unfair means face a jail term that may stretch to seven years. The criminalising of test rule violation and the war-level security are an overreach necessitated by the high stakes involved. Surperstitious parents carrying out weird rituals for the success of their wards in a largely secular Chinese society point to despondency and desperation.
The Chinese government should have a relook at the examination process and aim at moderation of its size and complexity. This would help authorities better manage the exam, rid the students of drudgery and lead to long-term social benefits.
