Jilin Province will
implement a security check that bans
any goods containing metal, including
bras with metal clasps, from the
upcoming national college entrance
examinations (gaokao) to avoid
cheating.
Reactions have been
mixed to the strict policy, with
some saying it is a step too
far, but other parents and students
saying it will help to ensure
fairness in the
exam.
Education authorities in
the province have called the policy
"silent gaokao," since students will
be barred from bringing anything into
the exam hall that makes the
metal detector beep, including clothing.
Those who fail a recheck will
not be able to sit the exam,
which takes place on June 7 and
8.
Students who have metal
substances implanted in their body,
such as heart pacemakers, must hand
in certificates issued by appointed
hospitals.
A staff member from
the provincial admission and examination
office said the policy, which is
stricter than last year's, was
made to strengthen the exam discipline
and avoid wireless devices used to
cheat.
Teachers are giving
guidance to students on the dress
code for exam days, for example,
wearing sports bras without a metal
clasp, pants with elastic waistbands
instead of zippers, and shoes without
metal eyelets.
Multiple drills
rehearsing for the checks have been
held in schools recently.
An
accountant surnamed Wu from the city
of Jilin, whose daughter will sit
the exam, said that even though
the policy has gone a little
too far on the dress code,
especially for girls, she supports it
in general as she also wants
fairness in the exam.
"I
just bought my daughter a new
bra and we don't need to
buy other clothes," Wu said.
"It's been heard province-wide that
in some counties, the problem of
cheating is severe and many of
us parents think it's unfair
for children. I hope the policy
is not just a
formality."
In 2009, high school
teachers in Songyuan in the province
were caught selling wireless cheating
devices to students, the Xinhua News
Agency reported.
A candidate
for this year's exam from
Songyuan, surnamed Tang, said that he
and most of his classmates support
the strict policy and believe it
is necessary to suppress
cheating.
"Any inconvenience caused
to achieve the fairness in the
gaokao is understandable," Tang said,
adding that he is optimistic the
policy will be
effective.
Security checks with
metal detectors for the gaokao have
been implemented in some provinces in
the past few years, mainly focusing
on detecting wireless cheating
devices.
