Shandong to enforce 'strictest measures' for college exam

Shandong will adopt the strictest measures in relation to the college entrance exam, or gaokao, scheduled to take place from July 7 to 10, an official of the province's department of education said on Friday. The measures will ensure fairness in college admissions.

"In recent years, Shandong has been using information technologies to strengthen management on each link of gaokao including registration of the exams, taking exams at designated venues and admission to guard against illegal deeds such as ID replacement," said Wu Yanping, deputy head of the department, at a news conference held in Jinan, capital city of Shandong.

Shandong published investigation results of three ID theft cases related to the gaokao this week, in which a total of 61 people were held accountable.

The cases took place before 2006 when there was less information and ID verification technology, Wu said.

This year, to prevent someone sitting for the exams for another, face recognition has been widely adopted, he said.

Education authorities and colleges in the province will also conduct reviews of freshman admissions. Any freshman who was found guilty of cheating or ID theft will be deprived of the admission qualification, and the education authorities will cooperate with the public security and discipline inspection authorities to trace all people involved.

The department will also develop an information service platform to provide students with timely and reliable information related to their exams, such as scores and enrollment results.

This year, 530,381 students in Shandong will sit for the gaokao in 17,840 examination rooms, with more than 80,000 staff members, including proctors and those who provide support and services, such as antivirus medical staff.