China's national college entrance exam back on schedule

China's national college entrance exam for 2021, also known as Gaokao, will be held on June 7 and 8, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Feb 19.

The decision came as a sign of the country's effective control over the COVID-19 virus spreading. Last year, the national exam was delayed due to COVID-19 by one month to July 7 and 8 for most parts of the country.

The MOE urged a full deployment of epidemic containment measures during the exam period in a circular on its website.

It says local authorities and schools must flesh out their working plans on COVID-19 and intensify safety measures on sites where exam scripts are printed, tests held, and exam papers marked.

They are required to do daily temperature measurements of all participants, set up isolated test rooms in case, and equip those facilities with sufficient medical supplies.

Other requirements include on-site temperature checking, disinfecting and ventilating exam sites, and observing social distancing.

Gaokao is deemed critical to social mobility and national talent selection in China. More than 10 million students sat the exam at around 7,000 sites across the country in 2020.