Test to select chief officials in SW China

A total of 4,566 people have enrolled to take a test to select 241 section chiefs in government offices and institutions of higher learning in Sichuan province.

Candidates could register online from June 6 to June 12.

"The candidates include overseas scholars who wish to return and people from most of the provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions," said Sha Wanqiang, an official with the Research Office in the Department of Organization of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The candidates will sit for a written examination on June 17. The score of the written examination will account for 40 percent of the total score.

An item assessing a candidate's professional background, grassroots work experience, major work experience, achievements, annual assessments, awards and results of academic research will be introduced, and it will account for 10 percent of the total score. The interview will account for 50 percent of the score.

"The assessment of a candidate's grassroots work experience highlights the trend of stressing actual ability in the open selection of officials," said Luo Zhengyu, chief of the public management section in the Party School of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee.

The 241 positions are in four departments under the Sichuan provincial government, 21 cities and autonomous prefectures and 16 institutions of higher learning under the administration of Sichuan.

Two positions are for domestic candidates and overseas candidates wishing to return, 71 for candidates nationwide, 96 for candidates in Sichuan and 72 for candidates in its cities and autonomous prefectures only.

The positions requiring high-caliber professional know-how include the deputy chief of the rare earth office under the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and deans of schools in universities.

The majority of the 241 job vacancies are in sectors such as economy, city planning, transportation, investment promotion, environmental protection and public health.

Overseas scholar candidates are showing a strong interest in the two positions wooing talented personnel at home and abroad - deputy chief of the Deyang City People's Hospital and chief planner with the Deyang City Housing and Urban and Rural Construction Planning Bureau. Some 20 overseas scholars have registered for the exam.

There are 39 positions for candidates in areas affected by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and poor regions in Sichuan.