Testing time for 1.12m seeking stability
By Shanghai Daily/AFP |
November 26, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
More than a million hopefuls packed out schools and universities across China yesterday to take part in the National Public Servant Exam, with a record number registering in search of a stable government job.
More than 1.5 million people applied to sit the exam this year, more than 30 times the number a decade ago and an increase of 150,000 from last year. On the day, about 1.12 million turned up to sit the exam to compete for around 21,000 government jobs to be filled next year.
One out of 53 exam takers will be successful in gaining a government post, according to the civil service administration, Xinhua news agency reported.
The rapid expansion in applications in recent years has been boosted by the perception that government jobs offer added stability and status, test-takers said.
Outside the Hujiaolou middle school in Beijing, one of dozens of test sites in the capital, Liu Ting, a 24-year-old student, stood clutching a red revision book containing lists of "hot" political jargon to be used during the test.
"I'm taking the exam because government jobs are more stable," Liu told AFP. "There's basically no chance of losing a government job once you have one."
Most candidates are university graduates, part of a massive expansion of higher education in China.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Education said the employment market for college graduates would be tougher next year. The number of college graduates will reach 6.99 million in 2013, 190,000 more than that in 2012.
A 31-year-old woman surnamed Liu said she hoped to swap her private-sector job as a quality inspector for a government post because "the benefits are better, and you don't need to worry about pensions or health insurance."
Cindy Liu, a 27-year-old flight attendant, expressed more exalted motives, saying she had been "reading the works of Chairman Mao" (founder of the New China) and hoped to "serve the people."
Those who pass the exam will also have to succeed in a tough interview process before they can gain a government job.
The public servant exam includes an aptitude test and a written policy essay. Those who pass the written exam will make it to the interview round.
Authorities this year are on the lookout for cheaters, with anyone caught breaking exam rules barred from sitting again for five years, the Beijing Times reported.
The hundreds of thousands sitting the exam have created a thriving training industry, with representatives from several coaching schools crowded outside the Hujiaolou school yesterday to greet the test-takers.
"We hope the students who do badly will come and train with our school next year," said one employee surnamed Qiu, sporting a yellow vest emblazoned with the words "I can pass the civil service exam."
"After all, only one in 1,000 students can pass," she said, shivering in Beijing's cold November wind.
More than 1.5 million people applied to sit the exam this year, more than 30 times the number a decade ago and an increase of 150,000 from last year. On the day, about 1.12 million turned up to sit the exam to compete for around 21,000 government jobs to be filled next year.
One out of 53 exam takers will be successful in gaining a government post, according to the civil service administration, Xinhua news agency reported.
The rapid expansion in applications in recent years has been boosted by the perception that government jobs offer added stability and status, test-takers said.
Outside the Hujiaolou middle school in Beijing, one of dozens of test sites in the capital, Liu Ting, a 24-year-old student, stood clutching a red revision book containing lists of "hot" political jargon to be used during the test.
"I'm taking the exam because government jobs are more stable," Liu told AFP. "There's basically no chance of losing a government job once you have one."
Most candidates are university graduates, part of a massive expansion of higher education in China.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Education said the employment market for college graduates would be tougher next year. The number of college graduates will reach 6.99 million in 2013, 190,000 more than that in 2012.
A 31-year-old woman surnamed Liu said she hoped to swap her private-sector job as a quality inspector for a government post because "the benefits are better, and you don't need to worry about pensions or health insurance."
Cindy Liu, a 27-year-old flight attendant, expressed more exalted motives, saying she had been "reading the works of Chairman Mao" (founder of the New China) and hoped to "serve the people."
Those who pass the exam will also have to succeed in a tough interview process before they can gain a government job.
The public servant exam includes an aptitude test and a written policy essay. Those who pass the written exam will make it to the interview round.
Authorities this year are on the lookout for cheaters, with anyone caught breaking exam rules barred from sitting again for five years, the Beijing Times reported.
The hundreds of thousands sitting the exam have created a thriving training industry, with representatives from several coaching schools crowded outside the Hujiaolou school yesterday to greet the test-takers.
"We hope the students who do badly will come and train with our school next year," said one employee surnamed Qiu, sporting a yellow vest emblazoned with the words "I can pass the civil service exam."
"After all, only one in 1,000 students can pass," she said, shivering in Beijing's cold November wind.
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