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770,000 sit exams for government jobs
(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-01 09:58 It is quite a phenomenon that a colossal army of 775,000 people, mostly college educated, sat at a nationwide exam in 38 cities of China on Sunday, to contest for mere 13,500 government jobs.
The mass rush and fierce competition to become civil servants among the country's young and educated is emblematic of Chinese people's increasing job-seeking tendency, that fielding a job in the government is once again esteemed by the society. Some economists say the trend is also a manifestation that people consider civil servants are "iron-bowl" jobs, that won't succumb to sudden economic upheavals like the current global economic crisis, which has hardened the bottom lines of many businesses, and led to tens of hundreds of laid-offs. To create a fair environment for the country's most intense exam, with 98 out of every 100 exam takers to have no chance for success, local educational departments, in cooperation with the police and radio frequency management officers, cracked down on exam cheaters, who would use wireless apparatus and the Internet technology, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Those who cheated in the exam would have "zero score" and would not be allowed to apply for similar exam in five years, the ministry said, adding relevant departments had paid great attention ensuring exam papers were not leaked before the exam. The 2009 central government recruitment plan offered only 13,500 positions, roughly the same with previous years. The results for the written exam would be announced in January and those who passed it would enter into the interview round. A government job was still considered a plum post for university graduates and other Chinese job-seekers as the global financial crisis prompted many private companies to cut the number of employees. Some believe that the economic and social status, welfare insurance and prestige associated with a government position in China have attracted more and more applicants, many young and knowledged. Positions with seismological bureaus across the country were also popular with this year's exam takers, according to the Modern Express, a newspaper based in southern Jiangsu Province, partly due to the devastating earthquake that struck southwestern Sichuanin May. The written test includes two sessions, the administrative aptitude test (AAT) in the morning and the essay test in the afternoon, before a more competitive interview at the beginning of 2009. China has been organizing civil servant recruitment examinations every year since 1994. |