Millions Sit China’s High-Stakes University Entrance Exam

Students prepare to enter a school for China's annual National College Entrance Examination in Beijing, China, 07 June 2025. (EPA)
Students prepare to enter a school for China's annual National College Entrance Examination in Beijing, China, 07 June 2025. (EPA)
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Millions Sit China’s High-Stakes University Entrance Exam

Students prepare to enter a school for China's annual National College Entrance Examination in Beijing, China, 07 June 2025. (EPA)
Students prepare to enter a school for China's annual National College Entrance Examination in Beijing, China, 07 June 2025. (EPA)

Hopeful parents accompanied their teenage children to the gates of a busy Beijing test center on Saturday, among millions of high school students across China sitting their first day of the highly competitive university entrance exam.

Nationwide, 13.35 million students have registered for the multi-subject "gaokao" series this year, according to the Ministry of Education, down from last year's record-high 13.42 million test takers.

Outside the central Beijing secondary school, a proud parent who gave her name as Chen said "12 years of hard work have finally led to this moment" -- as she waved a fan in front of her daughter while the student reviewed her notes one last time before the test.

"We know our kids have endured so much hardship," Chen told AFP, adding that she was not nervous.

"I'm actually quite excited. I think my child is excellent, and I'm sure she will get the best score," she said.

China's gaokao requires students to use all their knowledge acquired to this point, testing them on subjects including Chinese, English, mathematics, science and humanities.

The exam results are critical for gaining admission to university and determining whether they will attend a prestigious or more modest institution.

While teachers and staff offered students their support, holding up signs of encouragement, some test takers, dressed in school uniforms, appeared panicked, including a girl with tears in her eyes.

"There's no need for us parents to add pressure. The children are already under a lot of it," said a woman named Wang, whose son had just entered the exam hall.

Like many mothers, she wore a traditional Chinese qipao in hopes of bringing good luck.

"I hope my son achieves immediate success and gets his name on the (list of high-scoring candidates)," Wang said with a smile.

Higher education has expanded rapidly in China in recent decades as an economic boom pushed up living standards -- as well as parents' expectations for their children's careers.

But the job market for young graduates remains daunting.

As of April, 15.8 percent of people aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas were unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Due to this pressure, many Chinese students prepare for the gaokao from a young age, often with extra lessons after the regular school day.

- 'Safe gaokao' -

And every year education authorities are on guard against cheating and disruptions during the exam.

This week, China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang called for a "safe gaokao", stressing the importance of a rigorous campaign against cheating.

Areas around exam centers are closely guarded by police, with road lanes closed to traffic and several cities banning motorists from honking their horns so as not to disrupt the concentration of students.

In some schools, facial recognition is even used to prevent fraud.

While the university admission rate for gaokao test takers has exceeded 80-90 percent in recent years, many students disappointed with their results choose to repeat the exam.

As there is no age limit for the test, some have become notorious for attempting the exam dozens of times, either after failing it or not getting into their top-choice university.

One teacher at the Beijing school where parents saw off their children on Saturday estimated that only about 10 of the approximately 600 final-year students there would earn a place at one of the capital's top universities.

Jiang, a final-year high school student who only gave one name, said he dreamed of attending a Beijing university, and was remaining calm shortly before his Chinese exam.

"Even though the pressure is intense, it's actually quite fair," he told AFP.

"I feel like all the preparations that needed to be made have been made, so there's really no point in being nervous now, right?

"Whatever happens, happens. It's truly not something I can completely control."



Firefighters Battle a Wildfire Burning Out of Control on the Greek Island of Chios

A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
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Firefighters Battle a Wildfire Burning Out of Control on the Greek Island of Chios

A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS
A firefighting helicopter during firefighting operations on Chios Island, Greece, 24 June 2025. EPA/KOSTAS KOURGIAS

Hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Aegean island of Chios Tuesday, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders.

Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of emergency and have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos, said the Associated Press.

By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts. Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support.

Emergency services have issued evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the area since Sunday, when fires broke out near the island’s main town. The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze.

“We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island — a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said Monday from Chios. Authorities, he said, were “very seriously examining the possibility of an organized criminal act, in other words arson.”

The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled.

“Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court,” Kefalogiannis said. “Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such.”

Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers. In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.