Shanghai universities spurn Chinese exams
For many years, China has always listed Chinese as a subject in its notorious state-run university entrance exams the gao kao (高考). However, recently four of the six Shanghai universities that run their own university entrance exams took Chinese off the list.
Two of the four universities say they don't plan to run Chinese exams at all and the others have decided to only include mathematics and English exam subjects. The Higher Education Enrollment Office explains, “The reason students have to take English instead of Chinese is because the subjects they study will require better English language skills for academic research.”
Long Minfei, from China Youth Daily, wrote a commentary on QQ.com, supporting the abolishment of Chinese in exams. “Currently Chinese exams always require the one right answer while the answer itself really is subjective. There are a thousand [internpretations of] Hamlet in a thousand people's eyes, but Chinese exams want everyone say the same thing.” He adds, “It's an improvement to not test Chinese anymore so that students no longer need to guess what the test creators are thinking.”
As to why English seems more important than Chinese, Long says, “It's not discrimination against the Chinese language, the [students'] lack of English language skills is holding us back in this global world. It also has to do with why no Chinese person has ever won Nobel Prize.”
Politics of language
Instead of arguing whether Chinese should be an exam subject, many voices in cyberspace are turning their anger toward the English exam. “I've always been against an English test, because English isn't our mother language,” says Ban Zhi Yan Nic from Quanzhou, “Chinese exams test the Chinese spirit and our attachment to our country.”
Er Tong, from Beijing, sees language tied to broader issues of development and asks “If all Chinese people gave up Chinese and all started speaking English instead, does that mean there'd be no plagiarism, no fake academic researches and advancement in technology?”
Xiong Ying comments on QQ.com that if, “Chinese people should all speak foreign languages and become Westernized, that's a failure of Chinese education.”
Many netizens see this as less of an educational issue and more one slanted toward a nationalist agenda. “The Chinese language and its grammar are unique, and China has 5,000 years of history, which foreigners will never be able to understand,” says Yi Pian Bai Yun from Baoji. “Giving up Chinese exams means giving up our national roots.”
The voices that support the idea of getting rid of Chinese exams mostly echo Long's comments about the problems that the Chinese exam has. Zhui Zhu de Heng Ji from Shanghai says, “The exam is too subjective.”
Dan Zhu Ju Shi comments on QQ.com, “Questions in Chinese exams are always related to politics. It's not really about the language and culture. Getting rid of Chinese exams doesn't mean we don't study Chinese anymore. It's good to abolish the exam."
