The decreasing birth rate and the rising popularity of overseas studies have combined to drag the number of candidates for this year's make-or-break college entrance exam below 10 million - for the first time since 2007.
A total of 9.57 million, mostly high school graduates, are sitting for the three-day exam starting Monday, 650,000 less than last year.
It is the second straight year of decrease, according to the Ministry of Education. The peak was in 2008, when 10.53 million sat the exam.
Jiang Gang, deputy director of the ministry's college student affairs department, said the decline is mainly due to the shrinking number of high school students.
"It mirrors the decreasing birth rate caused by the one-child policy," said Wang Guangzhou, a researcher in demography at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Typically, students taking this year's entrance exam started primary school education 12 years ago. According to education ministry statistics, primary school enrolment has decreased since 1996: In 2008, it was a third less than the 1995 peak.
"That means the number of college entrance candidates will continue shrinking," said Zhao Ming, chief of the admission office of Nanjing University.
Apart from the falling number of high school graduates, the trend toward overseas college studies has also led to the drop in candidate numbers, said Wang Huiyao, vice-chairman of the China Western Returned Scholars Association.
Source:China Daily
