Discussion keeps the world's turning.
This is Roundtable.
Hello everybody, welcome to Roundtable.
Coming to you from Beijing, I'm Hayoung.
Good as always have you join us on today's show.
As the 2024 Gaukau kicks off on June 7th, millions of students are taking the National
College entrance examination which will impact their futures.
Amidst this, a new multidisciplinary major will be enrolling students for the very first
time.
In our discussion, we'll explore practical and emotional strategies to navigate the Gaukau
journey while also considering how such new majors could potentially open up fresh pathways
for students.
And we share with you what brought us sheer joy this week.
What's made us happy?
In Roundtable's happy place.
For today's program, I'm joined by Yushen in the studio and Josh Cotterall on the line
first on a day's show.
The Gaukau China's National College entrance examination is a pivotal event that influences
the futures of millions of students in China each year.
With 13.42 million high school seniors registered for the examination this year, its importance
and competitiveness cannot be overstated.
The introduction of a new major combining sports, elderly care, and health care represents
a significant step towards addressing the evolving needs of China's aging population.
As we explore this multidisciplinary field, let's consider the unique skill set required
for students to excel, including physical fitness, compassionate care, and medical knowledge.
Yushen, let's go to you first.
Walk us through the updates in this year's Gaukau and what should students and parents
expect.
Well, yeah, like you said, the Gaukau, which is known as the China's National College
entrance exam, is like one of the most important exams in all kinds of examinations that's
happening in China nowadays.
It has been seen by many as the, well, quote unquote, make or break deal or make or break
event for millions of students across the country.
Well, the exams caps 12 years of intensive studies from primary school to high school,
and the students scores will most likely have an influence on whether they can attend
university or like which kind of institution will accept them, and potentially what kind
of careers will these majors lead to after they wrap up their studies and everything.
So yeah, like back in my time when I attended the college entrance examination, many Chinese
people probably still believe in it today, referred to the Gaukau as thousands of people crossing
a narrow bridge.
And you know what's funny, Huyang?
This year marks the 10th anniversary of media attending Gaukau.
Because I celebrate.
I doubt if I'll celebrate, but anyhow.
I attended it back in 2014 and back then the rules and everything, it just felt so different.
I was just reading the timetable of this year's examination here in Beijing, because yeah,
I took it 10 years ago in Beijing.
And apparently all the arrangements has changed because back then we kind of followed what's
nowadays Huanan's schedule that we take, you know, Chinese literature and mathematics
on the, on the first day, which is kind of the same today in most major cities in China.
But we did integrated exam of history, politics and geography or integrated exams of physics,
chemistry and biology.
So each student needs to choose which integrated exam you got to take.
And that's like the most important thing on the second day.
That's how the rules and the like back then.
But right now students can choose three out of six texts for their exams.
And they can, you know, have more of an option on which subjects they would like to attend
in defining their final score altogether.
So it's like very interesting to me.
This is the first time I realized that the GALCAL system had been adapted to suit the students
personal interests in where they would like to develop in the future.
And in the meantime, it's been adapted to make it more like personalized in a way.
In a way, I guess.
So instead of the Venzong Lixong, the integrated examination, now at least test takers in Beijing,
you focus on the specific subjects of choice.
Yeah.
I wonder which one is more difficult.
Both sounds challenging because the GALCAL is challenging period.
And Josh, this is not the first time that we've talked about GALCAL because you've been
with us for more than a year.
And we like that.
You probably know that with GALCAL, he sticks out three fingers.
All right.
How time flies?
So you are a growing expert in the field, I suppose.
The pressure is on you, Josh.
Didn't see that happening.
Anyhow.
So I was just thinking that here in China, one of the reasons why the pressure is on is
that, you know, you only get these like two days or three days.
It depends where you live in this country to do this examination.
And that's it.
If you want to retake, you can.
But it's another one year of investment.
And some people do that.
But in the UK with the GALCAL equivalent, you don't do it that way.
And you take these exams in different times of the two years of A levels, which is the
high school equivalent.
And you get to retake during those two years.
So yeah, it's more of a student-oriented arrangement, maybe.
I'm curious to hear about your reflections on this huge event in China called GALCAL
at this time of the year.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, of course, I haven't taken the GALCAL myself, but I have met many, many people that
have done.
And some years ago, I was also teaching first-year students who just finished the GALCAL.
So I heard a lot of first-hand stories.
And I just speaking to them, I could feel how intense it had been for them, right?
And I could feel the stress.
And I feel like they'd just come out of something quite traumatic to be truly honest with you.
It seemed like that a lot of the time.
If one was to try to compare these two things, I think there is a greater intensity.
And I think that intensity probably comes from what you just mentioned, the fact that it's
very difficult to retake it.
And it's highly concentrated into these sort of three days, as you say.
Whereas in comparison, in the US with the SATs and in the UK with A levels, as you said,
quite rightly, her young, you can retake them over these two years, it's difficult to
say more or less stressful, because I'm sure there's many people that have been very stressed
by these things that would feel offended by that.
But I think overall it is less stressful for other reasons as well.
One being that the GALCAL obviously covers many different subjects, but A levels, it's
entirely focused, in fact, most students will only be studying three subjects by this point.
So basically in the UK, after the age of 16, usually you would go and start your A levels
and you would only be studying three subjects.
For example, I studied music history and law.
And that was it.
I stopped studying mathematics, stopped studying science, everything else.
So I was only focusing on these things.
There's pros and cons to that, right?
Because 16 years old is quite young to make that decision.
I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do.
Anyway, it allows for subject specification.
And then consequently, why do we do all of these things?
It's to get into universities, UK universities, for example.
They do have a much more holistic approach in terms of their acceptance.
So they will consider things like extra-curricular activities.
So comparatively less stressful, I would argue.
I see your point when you're so young as a teenager and you're only choosing three subjects.
I remember one of my friends in the UK, he wanted to become a biochemist as he grew up,
but he didn't take mathematics for A levels.
And therefore, he ran into troubles in applying.
The best case scenario is you kind of need to know when you're 16, what you want to do
in college because you know, you got to take the right subjects that sets you up nicely
for the next step.
Anyhow, both systems have their pros and cons, but here in China, on this day and the next
couple of days, I suppose the whole society kind of feels this underlying humming in the
background of some kind of stress because you also see this in the news reports about
all every year, there's at least one unfortunate gaukau examination taker who forgot to bring
his or her drunk heart.
Oh my gosh.
Sorry, touch what?
Nobody does that.
You know, you have to take this little piece of registration paper to get into the examination
room.
And then there's always some super nice police officer on standby and then just whisk
through up this young person and then drive some of her into the examination room and we
applaud.
So, okay, you should tell us about, you know, how different people in society are mobilized
because this is such a big deal here.
Yes, you're absolutely right, Huyang, because multiple departments and all facilities within
the Chinese society are all collaborating to ensure the smooth organization of the exam
and to make sure that the services are ready for the candidates when they need it.
Here's some quick info.
So, according to a recent Sun Hua report, this year there are overall more than 13 million
students that register for this year's gaukau.
And that is like a 510,000 increase from last year, which means that there's like more
students joining the exam this year and also meaning that their families and a lot of
people that's putting into their attention onto this nationwide event.
That inspires a lot of different departments from local educational departments and the
enroll and examination institutions as well as internet security departments like the internet
platforms, the cyberspace administration and also the ministry of public securities, all
of these different facilities cooperating together just to make sure that this year's gaukau
goes on fluently and as planned and well organized.
And also other services and assistance for the candidates are also involved such as transportation
and accommodation services, medical care and all that and mental and psychological care
as well.
So I think, yeah, it's like, like you said, all of our attention, all of the efforts are
aiming at the same goal, which is to make sure that the gaukau goes on well.
Yeah, I remember once trying to get on a bus or one of the public transportation places
and yeah, in this young person said, sorry, I'm taking the big exam today and then everybody
parted ways.
It was like, you know, Moses parting the Red Sea and it was like, yeah, you go first,
young man, good luck, you know, and it was kind of heartwarming and I was like, oh,
it is gaukau today and I was like, yeah, good luck, you know, yes, there was that little
heartwarming moment in my memory as well.
And when you say more than 13 million test takers today, that's more than 13 million
families behind them.
Right.
Right.
And going through this almost like an emotional ordeal if you're the nervous type or if this
is really, you know, something that you take very seriously.
Josh, I wonder if there's that kind of similar intensity of nerve-wracking preparation that
runs in the family in your country when it's a high school senior taking the last big
exam of this period of time.
Within the family, it's probably less intense and the only reason I say that is because
I think that culturally family relations in China tend to be a lot closer or the bonds
are stronger.
The family is usually slightly less involved.
Most of the time when it comes to university entrance exams in the UK and in other Western
countries, my dad is a university lecturer and my mum is a teacher.
So, you know, they're familiar with all of these things, but they basically just left me
to my own devices.
And that wasn't considered to be particularly negligent in our culture.
It was just like, okay, you have your studies and you probably should be studying, but
it's all on you, you know, whether I passed or not was kind of on me.
Well, I know that here in China, some parents would try their best to make the big day as
smooth as possible for their kids.
For example, they will try to book hotel rooms that's the closest to the place where their
kids are taking the exam.
So that happens 10 years ago on me.
My parents literally booked a hotel room that's like five minutes away from that school
that I was going to take the examination.
So my home, as a matter of fact, it's only like three to five kilometers away and it's
only like half an hour bus ride.
And as an exam taker, I'd rather stay at home, to be honest, because I was like super nervous
about the whole thing.
And yeah, I just try to maintain life as it goes in a normal pace.
That's how I go to school back then.
I take the bus everyday, I write the bike everyday and I like to keep that.
But instead of risking me to be late for the exam or risking anything that might ever
possibly happen on a way from my home to the location of the exam, my parents just decide
that no, you're not traveling, okay?
You're staying right next door to that location.
And we need to escort you on that five minutes walk into the room and we will be waiting
outside to see you walk in to make sure that you arrive.
For me personally, the source of pressure, not just lie on the exam itself, but also on
how people are surrounding you are reacting in a way.
And according to this year's data, this is not really like a new thing at all because
this year, the booking for short stay hotels near the exam revenue are also rather popular.
As shown by data presented by A. China Daily Report that as of May the 28th, the booking
volumes of hotel rooms has surged some 140% year on the year, meaning that the hotels
near these gaukau locations are still popular for today's parents.
Right.
And students too.
And also, I agree with you that I understand that you want to minimize the risk.
Also you don't want to be super like jolted, like worried, you know, if anything went
not according to plan, you know, you try to minimize that kind of risk and just follow
the regular routine.
I think that is the good way to go.
And also don't have exceptionally big meals.
Some people think that, okay, it's a big exam.
You're using up so much of your brain juice and then you need to replenish.
No, no, no, no, just try to like keep a healthy, regular diet and celebrate afterwards
when you can take the risk.
You know what, like the hotels, they also serve fruit snacks and, you know, the hotels,
they arrange specific rooms just for the exam takers.
And it happens this year as well, according to the report from China Daily that the hotels
are just opening specific rooms just for the exam takers that they can stay in quieter
areas of the hotel and all that and they serve snacks and fruits like they did 10 years
ago.
And for me, it's like, please just leave me alone.
Everybody, leave me alone.
Jowkow exam takers, they are of top priority of, you know, all these relevant policies,
practices or whatnot.
And Josh, we don't want people to be more nervous or excited as they already are.
What is a roadmap to navigating the stress during Jowkow?
Or, you know, your A-levels?
That must be similar to some extent.
Well, the thing that I always advise my students as well to do was to find routine, which I
think is very difficult for students sometimes just being that age and having so much to think
about, etc.
But it's really important to find routine.
We're creatures of habit.
And so you need to create a routine for yourself that allows you to stay healthy and mindful
and also get your studying done.
Basically, all the boring stuff, the stuff that you already know, right?
You know what you should be doing, but it's just starting that.
So getting outside and doing some exercise, you're sedentary for so long.
I think that's one of the worst things or the biggest criticisms I have about this kind
of exam culture is that students have to sit sedentary for such a long period of time.
And I think that's so, so bad for stress, so bad for your body.
And so finding a way to move, I think, is really, really important.
And then, yeah, if you have a good emotional support system from your family, that's wonderful.
This will vary from family to family, obviously.
But I think trying to find some sort of support network, a good environment to study.
And maybe if you don't have that, you could find a library or some friends to study with.
I think finding a good community of people is also really great.
I remember I did that for my history exam.
We would all study together, some of us, and having that sort of shared stress, it
makes it somehow makes it a lot easier to deal with.
So that's another piece of advice that I would give.
All right.
And Yushan, what are some of the good ways to relieve the stress?
From my side, I'll always encourage young people to just know that Galko is not the
end or the...
It's only the beginning.
Well, in a way, I guess.
You might see it as such a big challenge that's at your current face of life, but just know
that after 10 years, I've seen how I've grown after Galko or before Galko, and also I've
seen how I've grown after college years into the actual society and how I've experienced
things differently bit by bit as I, you know, glad to see things from other perspectives.
So in my sense, like a big challenge, but I assure you it's not.
So we are going to have like different faces in our life, and this is just like one step
that you get closer to where you want.
So just keep try at least to keep a peaceful mind and seek help whenever you want to and
do not let the exam psychologically defeat you.
Yeah.
Well, this is a big challenge.
Overcoming it is seen as almost like right of passage for Chinese young people as well
and going through this shows resilience, shows that you're able to handle pressure and
you are a brave young being.
Good luck to you.
And also we see that there are 24 new majors that have been approved by the Ministry of
Education earlier this year.
It goes into the undergraduate major catalog and one of them is actually very interesting.
It's a multidisciplinary major called Healthy Elderly Care by Sports.
These are like three major areas.
Yeah.
Heavy hitting.
So tell us, yeah, a lot of people see this as a promising new major.
What is it in tail?
So yeah, like I said, the major Healthy Elderly Care by Sports is actually one of the new
majors among the 24 released new majors this year.
And Guangzhou Sport University will be the first Chinese university to, you know, take
in this major and actually set it up.
And it's going to be led by Zhu Lin, which is the director of the Science and Technology
Department of the University.
She will also be the person who is going to manage this new major.
And according to her, this new major kind of includes maintaining the health status,
the health care of the sub-health status, and also the medical care during the clinical
stage of, you know, the elder population of China.
So it's sort of like an integration of health care, but also it simultaneously encourages
old people to join in some sports in a more active way.
She was telling this to China use daily that healthy elderly care by sports means that
we need to encourage old people to do sports reasonably, like doing physical, like mental
and attend to more of such activities.
And also this kind of helped to boost the public knowledge in, you know, learning that's
doing sports is equally important for old people as it is for everybody else.
Right.
And they need scientific and professional and hopefully compassionate guidance in this
sense.
Yeah.
I think that this new major is really positive.
And I think that when I look at this, I obviously come at it from a sort of Eurocentric
or Western-centric perspective from which we already have these kind of majors, right?
So I think for me, it's, I do, I do like it, though.
I think that offering a broader major is going to allow students more time to think about
what they actually want to do.
And I do believe that a lot of students aren't exactly sure what direction they want to
go in.
And so having a multidisciplinary major is a really good way, I think, of giving more time
to students.
So for me, I think it's a fantastic thing.
I also wonder if the job prospects are as rosy.
Josh, have you looked into that at all?
Well, I think that actually, sadly, the reality of this, which is probably a longer conversation,
is that we have to look at what employers value and a lot of the time employers look at
the university he went to.
And then certain professions will require very specific majors, but at least in my own
country, a lot of the time, if you have a good degree even in that relative field, then
you'll usually stand a chance at getting in the interview room.
All right.
Well, the Gaukau is a stepping stone, a test of perseverance and resilience, but it is
not defined the potential that lies within each individual, in my opinion.
So to all students who have endured this argeous journey, take pride in your efforts and
know that the best is yet to come.
