Chance to reform education

Chance to reform education

The number of students taking the National College Entrance Exam(高考) has fallen this year, providing a good opportunity to the government to institute educational reform [riˈfɔ:m](改革), says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:
The National College Entrance Exam has for long been the focus of the country's education system. This year it is in focus for an altogether different reason: fewer students taking the exam.
This gives a good opportunity to the government to begin educational reform. Fewer examinees(考生) this year have created new challenges for universities, which should take new measures(措施). For example, the key universities in developed provinces should admit more students from not-so-developed provinces and regions in order to bring a sense of fairness [ˈfeənɪs](公平) in higher education.
Unfortunately, neither government departments nor the universities have paid enough attention to reform. On the contrary(相反的), the Ministry of Education refused to announce [əˈnauns](公布) some crucial [ˈkru:ʃəl](关键)data [ˈdeitə](数据), like the number of students who opted(选择) not to take the exam. Without enough transparency [trænsˈpeərənsi:, -ˈpær-](透明度), it would be impossible to reform the education system.