Beijing proposes reforms on education

Policy streaming students into arts or science to be axed under bold move
By Kor Kian Beng, China Bureau Chief, In Beijing, The Straits Times, 5 Sep 2014

CHINA has proposed bold educational reforms, which include dropping a decades-old policy that streams high school students into arts or science.

This, it hopes, will give young people more time to discover their talents and also produce better-skilled workers.

Under the proposed reforms, students from rural areas and those from the less developed western or central regions will have a better chance of getting into university. Those who want to go to a vocational college will sit a separate, more skills-based, national college entrance examination, or gaokao.

The proposals, which stem from President Xi Jinping's reform pledges at the Communist Party's policy summit last November and his dream of a fairer society, were unveiled by the State Council yesterday.

State media described the changes as the boldest since late strongman Deng Xiaoping revived gaokao in 1977 and adopted depoliticised admission criteria. The national exam was suspended during the decade-long Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976.

Vice-Minister of Education Du Yubo told a press briefing yesterday that the ultimate aim of the latest reforms was to ease the pressure of the all-important exam on students and to promote a more rounded, quality education.

"To put it simply, we are trying to solve the problem of yi kao ding zhong shen," he said. The Chinese phrase means "one exam determines one's entire life".

The national exam is taken very seriously in China because good results ensure entry into a top university, a high-paying job and a successful life. Like their Singapore counterparts, Chinese parents go to great lengths to make sure their children do well in the gaokao by enrolling them in top primary schools.

Streaming, a policy implemented in 1957, now takes place in the second year of senior high. China's students spend three years each in junior and senior high. Unlike in Singapore where grades are a deciding factor, it is up to the Chinese students to decide whether they want to do wen ke (the arts) or li ke (science).

Students taking the gaokao are tested on three common subjects - Chinese language, mathematics, and a chosen foreign language - and on arts or science subjects depending on their stream. Under the revised gaokao, students will be tested on only the first three subjects. All high school students will study 14 arts and science subjects, such as political ideology and biology. And the high school exam results for their three best subjects will count towards their final gaokao score.

Education expert Tang Anguo of the East China Normal University welcomes the change and believes it would lead to a greater emphasis on a student's performance in high school, as parents tend to focus on preparing their children for gaokao.

"Also, it is good not to stream the students too early as they may not have discovered their interests or passions yet.

"High schools should be about giving them a foundation in general subjects," he told The Straits Times. Professor Tang said the proposed policy may also boost China's long-term aim of producing higher-skilled workers.

Pilot schemes will start in coastal Shanghai municipality and Zhejiang province this year. The reforms are expected to be rolled out nationwide in 2017 and fully implemented by 2020.

But Renmin University education expert Cheng Fangping said some reforms, such as higher university admission chances for rural students and those from western and central regions, may run into resistance.

For instance, parents in coastal cities may worry about the negative knock-on effect on their children's university admissions.

"Also, effective measures are needed to ensure transparency and accountability in implementing the reforms," Professor Cheng added.

KEY REFORM MEASURES

- An end to the streaming policy, in place since 1957, that sees senior high students taking either arts or science subjects and sitting national college entrance examinations (gaokao) based on their streams.

- Under the proposed reform, students will take the same gaokao paper. Their high school results for a mix of arts and science subjects will be taken into account.

- Students from the less developed central and western regions and populous provinces will have a higher chance of entering university because more admission places will be set aside for them.

- Students applying to enter vocational colleges will sit a different gaokao paper, which tests them more on their technical skills and knowledge, from those applying for a place in university.

- A policy that now awards merit gaokao points to students who are good in sports, for instance, will be scaled back to plug loophopes that have allowed bribery to take place.

Gaokao reforms score well with most parents
But scrapping of points for sports, the arts irks some
By Kor Kian Beng and Carol Feng, The Straits Times, 6 Sep 2014

HER 12-year-old son aspires to be a biologist, but Shanghai teacher Niu Xiangyu, 40, thinks his ability to articulate his thoughts clearly might make him a good diplomat.

For now, she is keen to let Xu Ming, who has just entered junior high, have more time to discover his own interests and talent, which is why she supports a new national proposal to scrap streaming - a policy that requires students at age 16 to pick either the science or arts stream.

"I think it is good to scrap streaming because it will better meet the needs of China's labour force by letting people discover their passion and pursue a career based on it," Madam Niu told The Straits Times.

The call to scrap streaming is among other reforms to the national college entrance examinations or gaokao and the university admissions procedure announced on Thursday.

Most parents, including those who spoke to The Straits Times, support the reforms, which are aimed at lowering the burden of gaokao, making university admissions fairer, and producing better-skilled workers over the long term.

But some worry whether their children's burden in school might increase or if their university admission chances might be adversely affected, as details of the reforms are still being worked out.

For instance, streaming - implemented in 1957 - lets students focus on either science or arts subjects from senior high second year. Students take the gaokao that tests them on the Chinese language, mathematics and a foreign language, and either science or arts subjects depending on their stream.

But under the revised gaokao, students will be tested only on the first three subjects - Chinese language, mathematics and a foreign language. Their high school scores on a mix of arts and science subjects will count towards their gaokao grade, which means students can no longer neglect their high school performance.

Shanghai municipality and Zhejiang province will pilot some reforms this year. The changes will be expanded nationwide by 2017 and fully implemented by 2020.

Though seen as the most comprehensive educational reforms since gaokao resumed in 1977, experts said some suggested changes might run into resistance from parents.

Shanghai engineer Lu Haiyan, 43, whose son is in senior high second year, does not support the scrapping of a policy that awards extra gaokao scores to students with sporting or artistic achievements.

Though loose supervision of these extra scores has led to widespread cheating, Madam Lu believes "it is unfair to parents who have spent time and effort grooming their children in these areas".

Mr Feng Jianjun, 45, whose daughter is in junior high second year, does not support the proposal to give students from the western/ central regions higher chances of entering universities.

"It means competition for university places will be more intense in the coastal regions. The quality of students from the western and central regions is usually low, and they don't return home after graduation. So what's the benefit of giving them more university places?" he asked.

However, a civil servant in north-western Xi'an city, who wanted to be known only as Madam Li, 42, and whose son is in senior high year one, is thrilled by this proposal. "The policy change will raise the chances for children in these regions to enter universities," she said.

Acknowledging the public divide, state media is describing the reforms as steps towards promoting social fairness while also urging the authorities to manage possible negative knock-on effects.

The People's Daily, the Communist Party's mouthpiece, said in a commentary yesterday that the reforms are "hard yet significant steps" to improve fairness and transparency.

The Global Times, a tabloid under the People's Daily, said in its editorial that it is hard for any gaokao reforms to please everybody as "the public has high demands for it, and sometimes different groups have different demands".

It cited how allocating more university places to pupils in central and western areas and populous provinces is in essence "a process of redistributing benefits", which may spark new disputes.

"The difficulties of advancing gaokao reforms are frustrating, but at the same time the new gaokao policy brings precious hope and encouragement. It is hoped it will provide a pillar to unite the whole country," the tabloid added.

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