"IF the college entrance examination had not resumed in 1977, I would still have been a manual worker or peasant," many Chinese who entered into universities nearly 30 years ago would say when recalling their experiences at that time.

China abolished the nationwide college entrance examination system at the start of the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) when applicants to all higher education institutes in China took the same tests and were selected by unified score standards.

Ten years later, the sudden renewal of the matriculation exam not only changed the life of a whole generation, but also marked the rejection by the nation of the fanatical belief that knowledge was of no use.

Many people who passed the first few sessions of the renewed college entrance exam later took very important positions in the country.

"It came back so suddenly that I could not even believe that I would have the chance to enter university," said Cao Min, who took the entrance examination in the winter of 1977, the first one after a 10 year cessation. Previously, he had worked as an electrician in Nanjing for a year after graduating from high school.

"I still remember the day when I took the college entrance examination was quite chilly, about minus 11 degree centigrade," Cao said. Unlike the normal matriculation date, which is always scheduled in summer, this special exam was held in December, due to an unexpected switch of the government's policy on education.

Equal opportunity

About 5.7 million Chinese people took the entrance examination in 1977. In 1978, the number increased to 6.1 million. A total of 675,000 were admitted to universities after the two examinations. The number of examinees would have been much bigger but many were prevented from sitting after failing the local primary examinations.

"The news about the matriculation soon spread like wildfire through society," Cao said. "Various kinds of reviewing classes and materials for the examination emerged and were ardently pursued."

At the age of 17, Cao eventually entered into Nanjing Teachers' College. His brother, two years younger, was also admitted to a university after the 1977 examination.

"My parents were very proud of us because both of us could go to universities, the only ones out of more than 70 examinees in our neighbourhood," said Cao. He was assigned to study English in the university and later he obtained his PhD in English. Now he works for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Lu Jinyong, a professor in the University of International Business and Economics, spent three years working as a peasant on the outskirt of Beijing before he took the college entrance examination in 1978.

"I was reaping wheat on the farm in the summer of 1978 and at the same time preparing for the coming examination," he recalled. For him, the renewal of the matriculation meant an equal opportunity for every one.

"Before that, I never thought I could go to university," he said. During the period of the "cultural revolution", the matriculation examination was replaced by a recommendation system. The youngsters were selected by the superior according to their performance at work on farms or in factories and then recommended for entry into universities.

"This policy was carried out unfairly in practice as many artificial factors were involved in the selections," Lu said. "The matriculation meant that you could depend on yourself and make every effort to alter your status and life."

The Government did not set many limits on examinees, in respect to age, educational level or family background, in the initial entrance examinations in the late 1970s, so the students who could not take the exam during the "cultural revolution" flooded the system when it was re-implemented.

"What's more, the young people rusticated by the Government had the common hope of 'escaping from the land' after they had experienced a tough time in the rural areas," Lu recalled.

In the 1960s to 70s, urban youngsters were sent to rural areas far from home, where they could receive "re-education" from the peasants, and learn by working in the fields.

As years passed, some lost hope of ever returning to the city. Matriculation provided a decent and equitable opportunity for everyone in the country, especially those who came from cities and hoped to return there.

"In my village, the cry was often heard: 'Go take the examination if you can'," Lu said. He took the exam after two months' hard work and was finally admitted by Renmin University. Now an expert in the field of international trade, Lu also works as a member of the think tank for the National Ministry of Commerce.

Like Cao and Lu, many of their peers in the university have become the elite in their respective fields. Many attribute their changed life to the former party chairman Deng Xiaoping who decided on the policy switch in the August of 1977. It is regarded as a turning point that the Government began to transform its attitude toward science, knowledge and professionals.

It is also reported that in that time of serious material shortages, there was such a huge number of examinees that the supply of exam paper ran short and had to be borrowed from the paper slated to be used for the printing of the "Collected Works of Mao Tse-Tung".

As an educator in the university, Lu thinks the matriculation examination is the most equitable system in current China, even though it has some faults.

"If the government had left matriculation to different universities, it would bring a horrible aftermath due to the absence of an impartial and open standard," he said. "After all, the educational resources in China cannot meet the needs of its huge population and the matriculation examination offers a reasonable system of selection."