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we might experience a drop in certain areas. But overall we
expect to continue on the steadily increasing trend line of
international higher education students,” he says. “Having
said that, we have to put more effort into our value pro-
posal and convince our target audience that Finland as a
well-functioning Nordic society is worth the investment,”
he adds.

CHINA
Affirmative action resentment

ON JUNE 7, MILLIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE
wrote the world’s largest academic test. China’s
university-entrance exam, known as the gaokao,
is punishingly difficult. Students spend endless hours cram- Students writing gaokao: punishingly difficult
ming for it. But it is also widely accepted as meritocratic.
Work hard, score well and, no matter what your social back- populations have improved so much that the bonuses are
ground, you will get into a good college. no longer needed to even things out.
Yet the test is administered in ways that don’t seem so This is questionable. Students from minority groups still
meritocratic. Local governments are allowed to produce lag behind their Han peers. And if the government were so
their own versions of gaokao, with different questions and concerned about fairness, it would do away with other extra-
scoring methods. Students in elite cities, such as Beijing point schemes, such as one targeting Taiwanese students in
and Shanghai, enjoy an easier route into local universities, the attempt to lure them to mainland universities. But none
which include some of the country’s finest. of this is likely to make young Han cramming for the gaokao
The maximum possible score on the gaokao can change feel any less anxious.
from year to year and may vary according to province, but
it is usually 750. Most provinces award extra points (rang- UNITED STATES
ing from 5-20) to certain groups, such as military veterans Mobile phones usage debate
and Chinese who return from overseas. Until recently, some
provinces showered points on students who exhibited “ideo- “IT’S LIKE THEY DON’T TRUST US,” SAYS EVA
logical and political correctness” or had “significant social King, a 14-year-old pupil at Alice Deal Middle
influence”. But such arbitrary criteria led to corruption and School in Washington, DC. Deal’s administration
calls by the Central government to phase them out. has banned mobile phones during the entire school day.
Unsurprisingly, the extra-points system has bred resent- Pupils must store their devices inside Yondr pouches — grey
ment among those who receive no help with their scores. padded cases that supposedly can be opened only with a
Lately their ire has been directed at members of minority special tool. Adults unlock the pouches with special magnets
groups, who have long been awarded grace marks simply on as pupils leave for the day.
the basis of their ethnicity. The policy, begun long ago, aims Unsurprisingly, pupils have hacked the system. (“What
to assimilate minorities into the dominant Han culture. But do you expect?” Eva says. “We’re middle-schoolers.”) The
some Han, who make up over 90 percent of the mainland’s girls recite a list of workarounds. Those magnets have be-
population, wonder why communities that nationalists of- come hot commodities, and a few have gone missing. Pupils
ten paint as disloyal and ungrateful, should receive such have been seen banging pouches open in toilets.
an advantage. Debates about teenagers’ access to phones and their use
The state itself has backed away from the policy in recent in schools have heated up lately. Some state legislatures in
years. In 2014, the Central government indicated a desire America are passing laws to stop phones from being used
for it to be re-evaluated. Since then, a number of provinces in classrooms, without banning them from schools alto-
— such as Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong and Shanxi — have gether. A popular book published in March, The Anxious
stopped giving extra points to minority students. Generation by Jonathan Haidt, has drawn fresh attention to
Under Xi Jinping, the Communist Party has promoted evidence that social media, mostly accessed through smart-
the idea of a single Chinese identity, an effort that has in- phones, may be to blame for a sharp rise in anxiety, depres-
volved trampling on the freedoms of minority groups and sion and self-harm among young people today.
abolishing affirmative-action policies. But the authorities Some researchers are unconvinced that phones are
justify the latest moves as a way to improve “exam equal- causing mental illness. Although America and Britain
ity” and prevent cheating in the admissions process. Offi- have reported a rise in problems as social-media use has
cials also claim that the schools in regions with big minority surged, not all rich countries have had similarly correlated

JULY 2024 EDUCATIONWORLD 57