Registration numbers for China’s demanding national university entrance examination have plummeted this year, with 450,000 fewer students signing up compared to last year, bringing the total to 12.9 million test-takers.
The Ministry of Education released these statistics on Wednesday, showing the second straight year of declining participation in the exam scheduled to start Sunday. This follows a decrease of 70,000 registrations in the previous year from 2024.
The drop reflects both a shrinking population of college-aged youth and deteriorating employment conditions, with joblessness among 16 to 24-year-olds surpassing 16%. Economic experts anticipate unemployment rates will climb further when a record 12.7 million college graduates flood the job market this summer.
Education officials did not address the falling registration numbers but stated they would “resolutely crack down on illegal and irregular activities such as false publicity, high fees, organising fraud or cheating.”
The trend shows growing student preference for vocational training programs that typically lead directly to employment. Local news outlets reported hundreds of parents lined up at a Beijing trade school in May competing for only 30 openings. Shanghai’s vocational institutions have experienced a 15% jump in enrollment over the past three years.
The challenging job climate became evident when over 700 people applied for just two shepherd positions in remote grasslands south of Mongolia. Chinese farm owner Zuo Xiaoyong’s online job posting attracted 59 million views on Weibo, China’s version of X, within hours and drew applications from urban professionals in major cities like Shanghai and Chongqing, factory employees nationwide, and college graduates.
This massive response underscores the mounting pressure in the nation’s employment sector.
For students taking this year’s examination, education authorities have implemented enhanced security protocols, including “intelligent screening systems to prevent high-tech cheating involving devices such as mobile phones and smart glasses.”
