Hundreds in central China protest lack of college placements

ZHENGZHOU, China – Some 500 people on Sunday protested what they say is a lack of university student placements in their central China province, in the latest protest over education reform.

Parents holding banners that read “Fair education” rallied in Zhengzhou city against what they say is a serious shortage of college placements in Henan province. The protest in Zhengzhou’s Erqi Square ended peacefully.

The Ministry of Education says Henan has more than 207,000 college placements, and almost 300,000 students from the province were enrolled in undergraduate courses in the country last year.

This year, the ministry says at least an additional 16,800 Henan students will be able to study in other provinces. But 820,000 Henan students have applied to take the university entrance exam this year, and the protesters say more placements are needed.

Protests over reform to college enrolment quotas also took place last weekend in nearby provinces, Hubei and Jiangsu. However, those parents were against cuts in the numbers of college placements for locals in their areas to enable more students from poorer provinces, like Henan, to have more access to universities.