The Ministry of Education has issued a guideline that requires primary and secondary schools nationwide to further cut the enrollment quota reserved for pupils with special talents in sports, music or art.
Originally, favorable policies that took into account talents in non-academic areas aimed to change the assessment system that only relies on academic scores to judge or enroll students. The policies are expected to be totally scrapped by 2020.
Commentator Wei Wei, writing for news site View.news.qq.com, said there are a series of problems with the policies.
Providing favorable policies for pupils with special talents could cause unfair competition between urban and rural students, since it would allow pupils who have more access to resources a greater chance of a sound education than their peers.
Many wealthier parents send their children to extra-curricular classes in sports or the arts to increase their chances of being accepted to a good school. But most pupils in fact are not interested in the classes their parents arrange, and their performances are simply the results of intensive training and are learned for the examinations.
In addition, some local officials have the power to grant certificates for special talents, and they may use this power for personal gains.
Some netizens worry that ending the policy means discouraging pupils with special talents, but Wei argued their concern is unnecessary. Without these favorable enrollment policies, schools can regard arts or sports courses as just another part of the general education they provide.
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