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| A student takes an exam during the first day of the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), known as Gaokao, in Baofeng county, Pingdingshan city, in China's central Henan province on July 7. (Photo by=AFP) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] Nearly 11 million candidates sat this year's exam, stories of how an identity theft scandal robbed hundreds of previous candidates of their dreams set social media alight. Officials in the eastern province of Shandong said a two-year investigation had found around 280 people involved in stealing and 46 people were punished.
The announcement prompted public outcry and Chinese lawmakers to vow a crackdown on corruption in the sector. China's top universities rely on a high gaokao score for admissions, increasing the pressure on students. Competition for few places in the top universities is fierce, and the Shandong scandal left many shocked. Most cases pre-dated 2006 and officials blamed poor ID verification methods for the failure to detect cheating. Among the victims was Gou Jing, who wrote on social media network Weibo that her former teacher's daughter stole her identity in 1997 and wasn’t sure how her identity was stolen.
She suspects her score was given to the other student or the imposter used a fake ID card with her name to enter the exam hall.The government said the imposter was stripped of her academic qualification and fired from her job.Chinese lawmakers are debating criminalising gaokao identity theft. And the Education Ministry pledged Thursday to investigate future cases of gaokao fraud and disqualify offenders from enrolling in higher education.
