Millions of Chinese students sit for gruelling 'gaokao'
Millions of Chinese students sit for gruelling 'gaokao'
Some 12.9 million students sat for China’s famed high-stakes National College Entrance Examination, or ‘gaokao’, across the country, which began on Sunday (Jun 7).
This was nearly half a million less than those who sat for the exam in 2025, continuing a trend of declining participation in the exam.
The decline in gaokao entrants is attributed to a shift away from pursuing academic degrees – with vocational programs seen as more likely to lead to full-time employment.
