Exams can be a major source of anxiety for students, especially if they receive a failing mark. But one school in China is now allowing its pupils to borrow necessary points from a ‘grade bank’ in order to pass any test.
However, students at Nanjing Number One School in eastern China will have to pay a price for their credits – by repaying the marks in subsequent tests.
The scheme is being hailed by some web-users in China, where there had been rising concern over the intense pressure that students face in the country’s rigid exam-based education system.
However, others have said it may cause students to be less diligent in their approach to their studies.
The school said the innovative project, which was launched last November, will help to reduce stress among its top 49 students who are permitted to trade marks.
The pupils, however, will still face pressure, as they will be charged “interest” if they do not repay credit on time. They can also be blacklisted if they fail to meet their debts.
A student, who is surnamed Zhu, told Chinese media: “I was sick before the mid-term exams and missed several geography classes. I failed the exam, so I am glad the “grades bank” gave me a chance to fix that.”
Success or failure for Chinese students is often determined by their performance in the dreaded national ‘Gaokao’ exam, which is taken in the final year of school.
There have been multiple reports in China on student suicides caused by the pressure of the test, which decides whether students will enter a top university or go into a more vocational system of higher education.
Huang Kan, director of Nanjing Number One School, said Chinese students experienced intense pressure because “grades mean everything to them”.
“Examinations should be more about improving the learning process, instead of a tool which is used to give students a hard time,” she told the Yangtze Evening News.
Xiong Bingqi, an education expert, told the Beijing News it was “improper” to use a “loan system” for exam marks.
“But every coin has two sides,” he added. “Students will not stress over examinations as they did before, as they can look towards getting high marks at the next opportunity.”
