China to unveil college enrollment reform in 1H 2014

China will unveil a master plan to reform college enrollment in the first half of next year, said a spokeswoman with the Ministry of Education on Thursday. The plan will herald the most systemic and comprehensive overhaul of China's college enrollment system, said Xu Mei, the ministry's spokeswoman. Xu said each province will work out measures to implement the reform plan in the second half of 2014. An overall reform blueprint that emerged in the wake of a key Party meeting in November vowed to allow for more diverse assessment of students in college enrollment and unify arts and science-oriented entrance exams. The ministry also made public on its official website a hotline for reporting misconduct in the upcoming graduate school entrance exams, which will be held Jan. 4 to 6 next year. Students that plagiarize on the exams will be subject to harsh penalties, such as denied participation in state-level exams for up to three years and dismissal from their current schools, the ministry said.