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Proposal to cancel nationwide English test rouses debate

CCTV.com

03-10-2017 13:54 BJT

Full coverage: 2017 NPC & CPPCC Sessions

(Source: CGTN)

By CGTN reporter Hou Na

NPC Deputy Li Guangyu recently touched a raw nerve when he proposed to cancel the English test from the college entrance examination.

This year, lawmaker Li Guangyu brought two motions and seven suggestions to the NPC Session.

In one of his suggestions, he said the English segment should be taken out of the college entrance exam. And that quickly stirred up a hot debate on and off the internet.

"I am not opposing the study of the English language. I am suggesting that the country should change English lessons from compulsory to selective, and make it a selective subject in the college entrance examination," Li said.

He said China's education quality lags behind that of international levels, and children were too stressed by exams.

He also said subjects should be taken based on a child's own interests.

"English has been overvalued and other subjects such as sports and Chinese Classics have been undervalued," he said.

Li, who is also the head of a high school in Henan Province, has been calling for education equality for many years.

For three years in a row, he proposed for China to make high-school education compulsory.

That received positive feed back from the Ministry of Education. And this year, more law makers are supporting his motions.

Deputy Li Guangyu has already received support from several law makers. But in order to get his motions submitted to the central committee, he has to collecte at least 30 signatures from other law makers. An NPC motion then becomes legally binding when it's adopted.

During the Two Sessions, motions are constantly brought up and many are debatable, just like Deputy Li's.

Not everyone may agree with him, but a passionate discussion is certainly more than welcome during this political season.

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