Chinese millionaire fails for 27th time in ‘vestibular’

[ad_1]

Liang Shi has been trying to get into college since 1983, but fails to pass China’s tough national exam. Liang Shi, pictured here in 2018, has tried to pass his exams dozens of times since 1983. Getty Images A Chinese millionaire has failed his university entrance exams for the 27th time. Last week, 56-year-old Liang Shi found he had scored just 424 out of 750 points. The grade is 34 points below what is needed to apply to any university in China. Nearly 13 million students took the exams this year. Liang, a Sichuan resident, had already been highlighted in the press for his previous attempts to gain a place in higher education. He has taken the exams dozens of times since 1983. Liang told local media he was disappointed with his result this year and now wonders if he will ever be able to fulfill his dream. “I used to say ‘I just don’t believe I won’t make it,’ but now I’m torn,” Liang told Chinese media Tianmu News. The exam, called Gaokao, is known to be difficult. It assesses the knowledge of high school graduates in Chinese, math and English and in any other science or humanities subject of their choice. Chinese government data shows that only 41.6% of applicants were accepted to universities or colleges in 2021. Gaokao is seen as a life-changing opportunity for applicants — especially for those from poorer backgrounds, in a country where a diploma is considered essential for a good job. Tests have been the focus of the country’s education system since the 1950s, although they were suspended during the Cultural Revolution. Liang said he had always dreamed of getting admitted to a prestigious university and becoming an “intellectual”. After failing on his first attempt in 1983 when he was 16, he worked different jobs, but kept applying every year until 1992, when he was deemed too old. After the factory he worked at went bankrupt that same year, Liang opened his own lumber wholesale business in the mid-1990s. He soon became a businessman with far more pay than a student—he made a million yuan in one year. (about BRL 660 thousand, in current values) and started a building materials business. But in 2001, when the Chinese government removed the age limit for the Gaokao, he restarted his studies for the exam. Since then, he has only missed annual exams due to health issues or his busy work schedule. Over the years, his motivation for passing the exam changed – instead of looking for an opportunity to change his life, he now wanted to show that he would not give up in the face of failure. “If you don’t go to college, your life is not complete without higher education,” he told local newspaper The Papers in 2014. On June 7 of this year, he returned to take the exams. During the preparation phase, he refrained from drinking and playing mahjong (a Chinese board game) to concentrate on his studies. But then again, it wasn’t her turn to get into college. Liang said that, unlike in previous years, he is starting to feel defeated. “I’ve been thinking about whether to continue,” he told Tianmu News. “Maybe I need to reflect on myself.” In another interview, Liang expressed more doubts. “Maybe I’ll drop out (next year),” he said. “If I attend next year, I will stop using my last name, Liang, in case I fail.”

[ad_2]

Source link