For those opting to attend vocational school, the dreaded national college entrance exam might no longer be in your future.

Sun Xiaobing, Chief of the Policies and Regulations Department, Ministry of Education said at a National People's Congress press conference last Friday that the currently shared admission exam for universities and vocational schools will no longer be used.

Instead, the national entrance examination would be required only for those attending university, while a separate vocational school entrance exam will be held, its standards set by each province.

Sun also explained this separate exam policy is designed to lessen the burden on students while encouraging vocational school enrollment.

Would separate exams for universities and vocational schools simplify or complicate admissions?

Zheng Ruolin

An education professor at Xiamen University, Fujian Province

I support this proposal. If we first sort students before they sit the exams, it would improve the efficiency of admissions. Based on the new proposal, the Ministry of Education will set a national exam, which not only improves its quality but makes for fairer admission standards. And as provinces will govern vocational school exams, they can design them according to market needs so that schools can cultivate more highly skilled workers for fields now in shortage of professionals.

Xu Li

Vice-principal of Wuhan No.1 high school, Hubei Province

It is better to have central control of university entrance exam as large percentages of students at major universities come from different provinces. But a tech school is different, as most recruit locally, so it is quite reasonable that each province holds their own exams.

Liu Yi

An English senior at Beijing Foreign Studies University

The key is how to carry out this policy. The first thing we have to clarify under this new system is, can students take the university admission exam first and if they fail take the vocational school admission exam or can students only choose one?

If the latter, it would have little influence on those with either high or poor marks, but for those who are mid-level students, it might only give them even more pressure, since they have to make the difficult choice of which road to take.