People who will sit for next week’s national university entrance exam, also known as gaokao, wait in line to take a nucleic acid test at Shenzhen Hongling Middle School in Futian District yesterday. Shenzhen yesterday began carrying out COVID-19 nucleic acid testing of the 45,852 participants of the exam, which will be held from Monday to Wednesday.
Yesterday, Shenzhen started carrying out its large-scale COVID-19 nucleic acid testing of the 45,852 students who will participate in the National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE), commonly known as gaokao, which will be held from Monday to Wednesday.
A negative nucleic acid test result, taken within seven days before Monday, is required for a test taker to attend the gaokao, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau.
As sporadic infections have emerged in Yantian and Longgang districts, the city government has once again tightened its COVID-19 prevention and control measures. Forty-eight of Shenzhen’s high schools have been designated as exam venues and have taken strict anti-pandemic measures to ensure the safety and health of all candidates.
Nantou High School in Nanshan District is one of these exam venues. “We have implemented closed management of students living on campus since Monday,” said Liu Xianlin, the school’s vice principal.
“However, it is more difficult to manage social candidates that account for almost one-third of the total.”
Social candidates refer to exam takers that are not registered students studying at school and will retake NCEE this year.
Around 3:30 p.m. yesterday, almost 50 social candidates lined up near the campus gate of Shenzhen Hongling Middle School in Futian District, waiting to take a nucleic acid test.
A female returning student, surnamed Dong, planning to retake NCEE this year, told the reporter about the city’s preventive measures for social candidates.
“Before June 1, we were suggested not to travel to high-risk areas, unless necessary. After June 1, we are required to study at home and avoid any tutoring organizations. We can only travel between home and the exam venue.”
Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong inspected this year’s gaokao preparation Monday. He spoke with officers in related departments of Yantian and Longgang districts in a video meeting and conducted trips to see Shenzhen Middle School Nigang Campus and Shenzhen Hongling Middle School for himself to ensure that exam-related facilities are in place.
The municipal education bureau said the city would strive to roll out high-standard anti-coronavirus measures this year at a news conference Sunday.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the gaokao was postponed by one month in 2020, with a total of 53,400 candidates attending the spring and summer gaokao in Shenzhen.