Cut interest chain behind exam scams

While moral decline leads to open cheating when it comes to bonus marks in the gaokao, or national college entrance exams, lack of legal punishment deepens the problem by freeing those involved from fear of paying a price. Related officials, schools, teachers, students and their families have already formed an interest chain and that's worse than the scandal itself.

Wu Ni, National Institute of Education Sciences, People's Daily, July 15

Some may advise canceling all the gaokao bonus programs, but by doing that China is avoiding, not solving, the problems. Actually, the fact that corruption gets uncovered is a sign of social progress, and we expect the public to continue supervising the exams until the problems are solved. Those involved in the abuse of the bonus points system must be punished, so officials in other provinces learn the necessary lesson.