Several Chinese provinces have now announced the number of candidates that have registered for this year’s gaokao, or university entrance examination. Of the 11 provinces that have so far reported their number of candidates, eight have seen a decrease compared to 2014, with an overall average fall of 2.6 per cent.

This is the continuation of a long-term declining trend in gaokao candidates, which peaked in 2008 but have been affected by China’s falling youth population as a result of the one-child policy. After Beijing announced its 9th consecutive annual drop in gaokao candidates, the Beijing Times pointed out several other key changes to Chinese university admissions in 2015:

· Although the number of students taking the gaokao has fallen, the number of available university places has not. This means that students will find it easier to enter university.

· Many universities have added new subjects, often highly specialised courses related to a certain industry.

· More universities are recruiting students by broad discipline rather than for individual courses. For example, Xi’an Jiaotong University offers 82 subjects but will start to recruit students based on 32 broad disciplines and six experimental classes. Students will choose their final degree subject after the first year of their course.

· Elite universities will decrease the number of students given “waiting list” offers after gaokao results have been published.

· The number of Sino-foreign joint programmes is continuing to increase, especially for programmes that allow students to receive degrees from foreign universities without going abroad.

· For students in Beijing, this is the first year of new measures for submitting applications to universities. Students are now able to submit their applications after receiving their gaokao scores, and can simultaneously apply to up to 6 schools at the same time.

Analysis by Liu Xiaoxiao, Education Service Manager and Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst:

As in previous years, the falling number of gaokao candidates will translate into a higher rate of admission to Chinese universities rather than a decrease in the number of new undergraduates. However, it does put a limit on growth, and suggests that the country will see its student numbers start to fall in the not-too-distant future.

Meanwhile, there is still a high demand for Sino-foreign joint programmes, while newly established courses and popular majors also reflect the current trends in the field of professional industries and employment market demand. The subject development priorities at different universities could help UK institutions to better understand and conduct partnership building in a more subject-specific way.

Source: http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2015-04/21/content_191716.htm