University entrance exam season is upon us again, and hundreds of thousands of students will soon find out which schools their scores may take them to. It is a time of hope and anxiety.
On Friday, a group of parents stood outside an exam hall, cheering on their children, who were preparing to take their university entrance exams. Some had reason to be anxious: of the 133,000 plus students sitting for the exams this year, around 13% were retaking them after doing poorly the last time around- the highest percentage in recent years.
The first subject of the day was English. While there were no questions about current affairs on this year’s exam, students found this test much harder than last year’s.
Schools have done what they can to provide moral support. One has prepared crackers printed with a phrase that means to score high marks. Another has provided watches to help students keep track of study time before the test and to track the amount of time they have left once the exam begins.