Bonus points for exam must not be misused

A student raises his arm in excitement after finishing the National College Entrance Exam (NCEE) at the Guiyang No 6 High School in Guiyang, capital ofSouthwest China's Guizhou province, June 8, 2014.[Photo/Xinhua]

THE PARENTS OF MANY MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province, have reportedly questioned the bonus score policy in the just concluded senior high school entrance examination. More than 11,000 examinees, nearly 16 percent of those who took this year's exam, had a bonus added to their original test scores. People's Daily commented on Thursday:

It is not surprising that some parents refuse to trust the implementation of the bonus score policy, because there are too many beneficiaries and their qualifications are hardly convincing. Students in some cities received a bonus score simply because their parents invested in local businesses.

Amid the increasing public outcry for educational fairness, education authorities have made notable progress in optimizing the policy applied to the national college entrance exam, as only five subjects are still open to additional scores. But, as Kunming has shown, this is not enough.

In effect, the bonus score policy was designed to improve educational fairness, given the different education levels of most provinces and autonomous regions. It is equally understandable that measures are needed to recalibrate the proportion of beneficiaries and make it adaptable to changes.

Of course, minority ethnic groups and other special groups are expected to enjoy the bonus in years to come, which is in line with the spirit of fairness. As for a wide range of "encouraging" bonuses, their existence is no longer necessary against the backdrop of the ongoing educational reform, which aims to help students explore what they are really interested in, not just get higher scores.

It is thus important to stop some ill-founded extra points from hindering reform and fueling irrational clashes. School education is supposed to focus on teaching students to compete fairly.