EXAMINATIONS FOR SELFPACED HIGHER EDUCATION

(zixue kaoshi)

In 1977, entrance examination for college enrolment resumed after a ten-year ban by the Cultural Revolution (education). Universities already in dire need of accommodation, faculty and funding suddenly faced a relentless influx of talents of various ages who had been deprived of the opportunity to receive higher education for a decade. Beijing, hit the hardest by the predicament, adopted a resolution in July 1980 to allow its residents to pursue higher education through self-paced studies and get degrees by going through comparable procedures. In January 1981, programmes on offering exams for those who seek higher education through self-paced studies were piloted in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and later Liaoning province.

In May 1985, the State Council set up the National Steering Committee on Exams for Those Who Seek Higher Education through Self-Paced Studies, which began to make the pilot programmes a standard practice throughout the country.By the year-end, examination systems for self-paced studies had been established all over the mainland.

Apparently this examination system proved to be an innovative solution to the country’s unique problem. It helped pay off what the Cultural Revolution owed to the Chinese, and is still helping to fill the gap between a large population of prospective college students and an inadequate number of universities. Self-study examinations qualify students for a two-year non-degree diploma, a three-year associate degree and a four-year bachelor degree. Designated universities conducted examinations and confer degrees in accordance with the central and provincial governments’ guidelines.

See also: Central Radio and Television University