Plug loopholes in college exam

Where there is a loophole in a system,there will always be some who take advantage of it to cut corners.

The practice of giving bonus points to national college entrance examinees with special talent or abilities in a particular area is meant to make sure such talented candidates can enter universities, even prestigious ones.

However, such a policy has turned out to be a hotbed for corruption, which challenges the fairness of university enrollment.

It has been revealed that 445 students in Central China's Henan province who gained the extra points this year for their sporting abilities, received their athletics certificates from the same martial arts competition. In another instance, more than 70 candidates from a single high school qualified for the extra marks for outstanding performance in sports.

Some students have chosen not to receive the bonus points after the scandals are exposed and become a public event. This points to the fact that many have received their entitlement to the bonus points by cheating and there is a market for the necessary certificates.

Local governments have promised to investigate the scandals. But the repetition of such scandals every year and the concluding of the investigations with just a few scapegoats caught, suggests it is unlikely that the probes this year will go any further.

This is because money and power are deeply involved in such scandals.

On the one hand, wealthy parents are willing to spend money to get their children to a prestigious university, and those with power are willing to abuse it for the same end. On the other hand, some schools are enthusiastic about making money and so are some competition organizers.

The appearance of money and power somewhere in the process makes the illegal appear legal and unfair appear fair.

Some consider such corruption minor. But what it sabotages is not just the fairness of the national college entrance examination system. By obtaining 10 to 20 extra points, children of powerful and wealthy families deprive some disadvantaged students of the opportunity to attend university. As a result, some promising candidates may never get where they should.

Such corruption obstructs normal social mobility. This is an example of a positive element for the progress of a society becoming negative.

The government should not treat it lightly.