The number of students sitting the national university entrance exam, due to begin tomorrow, has dropped sharply by 450,000 to 12.9 million from a year earlier, as more teenagers opt out of academic degrees.
It is the second consecutive year of decline in registrations for the national exam, known as the gaokao, following last year’s drop of 70,000 from 2024.
The Education Ministry, which released the figures, did not comment on the declining numbers, while saying it would “resolutely crack down on illegal and irregular activities such as false publicity, high fees, organising fraud or cheating”.
The widening decline comes as more students choose to pursue vocational programmes, which typically lead to full-time work.
Hundreds of parents queued at a vocational school in Beijing in May to register their children for just 30 available spots, local media reported.
In Shanghai, vocational colleges have seen a 15% increase in enrolments for courses compared with three years ago. — Reuters
