Reinstatement of the College Entrance Exam

After the Cultural Revolution began, schools were forced to “suspend classes to make revolution,” and college admissions also halted. After 1970 some universities resumed enrollment but abolished examinations, using instead a recommendation system of “voluntary application, recommendation by the masses, approval by leaders and review by the school” to admit “worker-peasant-soldier students,” and educational quality fell sharply. In 1977 Deng Xiaoping, who had returned to work, volunteered to take charge of science, technology and education. In August, at a forum on science and education, he heard scientists’ and educators’ proposals to restore the entrance exam and decided on the spot to do so that very year. He said: “This year we must resolve to recruit students directly from high-school graduates, and stop the recommendation system.” In October the State Council approved the Ministry of Education’s Opinions on the 1977 University Admissions Work, announcing the restoration of the unified national entrance examination, with voluntary registration, a unified exam and admission by merit. In the winter of 1977, 5.7 million people sat the exam and more than 270,000 were admitted; in the summer of 1978 another 6.1 million took it. The restoration brought renewed respect for knowledge and talent, selected many outstanding people for the country and changed the fate of millions of young people. In March 1978 the National Science Conference was held, where Deng put forward that “science and technology are productive forces” and that “intellectuals are part of the working class,” ushering in the “spring of science.” Restoring the exam was an important breakthrough in setting right the wrongs of the previous years and had a profound impact on China’s modernization.