Less than two weeks ahead of China's national college entrance examination, or gaokao, which will take place on June 7 and 8, the Ministry of Education has signed contracts with higher education admission commissions of all provinces, regions and municipalities to ensure a fair, transparent national exam across the country. Such measures include installing monitoring cameras at every testing venue and mobile signal shielding.

According to the contract, the ministry takes charge of overall assigning and monitoring of the gaokao in 2014. Local higher education admission commissions should provide a sound and transparent testing environment. They are responsible to work closely with the ministry to wipe out group cheating in the gaokao, and act efficiently toward unexpected accidents that may happen during the two-day exam.

About 9.12 million people participated in the exam in 2013, widely reckoned as the largest examination in Asia.

In Changchun, capital of Jilin province, a total of 50,482 people will attend this year's gaokao, an increase of 2,865 people compared with last year. About 3,254 teachers will take charge of monitoring this year's examination.

Local education departments are requiring all candidates and their parents to sign a letter of commitment, in which they promise they won't cheat on the exam. Local authorities also need to make sure that each examination center takes no more than 1,200 examinees.

Zhong Shijun, from the education department of Changchun, said that the city has spent 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) installing a system to prevent cheating in exams such as by preventing any words or numbers from appearing on electronic devices and by disturbing transmissions to any earphones.

Contact the writers at zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn and hanjunhong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 05/27/2014 page5)