9.42 million students sit national college entrance exam

High school seniors in No 3 Middle School of Cangzhou City, Hebei province, are playing games to relax on May 28, hoping to keep an optimistic attitude toward the college entrance examination. Zhu Xudong / Xinhua

It is the same in Beijing, which is generally considered to have the best universities in China.

The quotas for Beijing students who take the Gaokao was cut to 52,200 in 2014, down 30 percent from 76,700 in 2008.

Unfortunately, the move did not ease vacancies in university recruitment.

Statistics show second-class universities or colleges failed to get full enrollment among high school graduates in Beijing for four straight years, since 2010. Chinese universities are classified on different levels based on their overall strength.

"Chinese universities are undergoing a serious survival crisis, " said Chen Zhiwen, editor in chief of China Education online.

HOMOGENOUS EDUCATION LOSING ATTRACTION

Getting into college does not guarantee a good job upon graduation. This year, nearly 7.5 million students who succeeded at the Gaokao four years ago are still looking for jobs in the toughest job market ever.

Critics say a large number of Chinese universities have been racing to expand their scale by establishing as many majors as they can. Unfortunately, homogenous education intensifies the difficulties in job hunting among college graduates.

"The crisis of recruitment, seemingly an employment problem, is indeed a crisis of declining education quality," Chen warned.

According to the Ministry of Education, Chinese universities added 1,681 majors in 2014, most of which overlapped other majors.

Among them, Internet of Things Engineering was the most popular, with 54 universities or colleges adding the specialty which has already opened in 250 schools.

But even with an excess of trendy new majors, graduates in traditional areas are experiencing difficulties in employment.