On March 30, 2020, the Ministry of Education announced that the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, would be held on July 7 and 8, which is usually held on June 7 and 8.

WangHui, director of the ministry’s Department of College Students Affairs, said the postponement is mainly to ensure the fairness of the exam. As senior high school students have been taking online courses during the epidemic(流行病), many rural students who lack internet access might feel disadvantaged, so the delay is to ensure they will have more time to prepare for the exam at school, he said.

This is the first time in 17 years that China has adjusted the date of the college entrance examination.

According to the announcement, standard Chinese language and mathematics tests will be on July 7, which are mandatory exams for all students.

On the morning of July 8, students would either take the test for social sciences (history, political science and geography) or natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology), depending on their high-school subjects. Foreign language shall be the final subject .

Further arrangements will be announced to the public later.

The examination postponement could be regarded as an adjustment due to the coronavirus oufbreak, said Li Jiasheng, a senior high school teacher at Beijing No.4 High School, the Paper reported.

“It gives us more time to make up for the suspension of class due to the outbreak.”he added.