China’s college entry exam, Gaokao, attracts 450,000 fewer applicants
After years of growth, the number of 18-year-olds taking next Sunday’s National College Entrance Examination is down by more than 3 per cent this year, a sign that an academic education is no longer seen as key to good employment opportunities, even in China. Meanwhile, enrolment in vocational schools is up, encouraged by the government.
Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Next Sunday, 12.9 million young Chinese will take the Gaokao, the National College Entrance Examination, considered the largest selection process of its kind in the world. And the government has taken steps in the past few days to ensure the security and rigour of the process.
In China, this is a major event that takes place over three days, and is traditionally seen as the gateway to the best job opportunities. This year, however, one fact stands out above all else, i.e. the sharp drop in the number of students taking the exam.
For much of the 2000s, the number of people applying to university in China had been rising, with a peak of 13.42 million in 2024, but last year, a first, slight decline was reported, which accelerated this year, with some 450,000 fewer Gaokao applicants than in 2025 (-3.37 per cent in just one year).
Why are fewer people taking the Gaokao this year? Demographic trends have little to do with this since those applying this year were born in 2008, when China's birth rate was still rising.
The drop appears to be driven instead by growing scepticism about the value of a college degree as a key to professional success.
In recent years, the Chinese economy has slowed, while youth unemployment remains high, above 16 per cent according to the latest data released in April.
More and more graduates are struggling to find jobs suited to their qualifications, fuelling doubts among students and families about the true value of investing years of study and significant financial resources in a university education.
By contrast, vocational schools and technical institutes are gaining popularity with programmes offering practical skills and often a quicker entry into the job market.
The government itself is supporting vocational education to fill the shortage of skilled workers in manufacturing, technology, and other strategic industries.
This shift is particularly evident in smaller cities and less developed regions, where families more carefully weigh the balance between university costs and future job opportunities.
Conversely, access to elite universities such as Tsinghua and Peking University remains extremely competitive.
These two opposing trends confirm that China's growth model is far from being free of contradictions, especially when it comes to employment, with young people the most exposed to the repercussions of the rush to a type of education that, in reality, struggles to deliver the opportunities it promises.
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