OPINION> Commentary
Stop this silly hype
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-03 07:37

It is time to stop the hype over the top national college entrance examinees, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:

With the end of the national college entrance exam, the enrollment work is now underway. People would still remember the media's hype over the examinees who won the highest scores in each province. The detailed information about the top examinees was reported by the media with lengthy coverage, including their names, heights, pictures, scores, high schools they graduated from and universities they entered.

Some high schools also hung large red banners at the school gate to celebrate their good performances during the national college entrance examination, such as the "No 1 school in scores in the whole city". Some companies sponsored top examinees with airplane tickets; local governments provided rich rewards for top examinees; education bureaus gave bonuses for them.

The main reason for the hype over top examinees is that schools can attract more students to study there and the media can attract the attention of readers.

In fact, this hype has more harms than benefits. First, it will make top examinees arrogant, which is not good for their healthy growth in the future. Second, in the long run, it is not conducive to the transformation from test-oriented education to all-around education.

As early as 2004, the Ministry of Education said that the media should stop the hype. Since 2005, universities have been prohibited from ranking their students according to the national college entrance exams and also banned from making a publicity revolving around any top examiner.

(China Daily 07/03/2008 page8)