Reasons behind the lure of civil service

Many expect the number of applications for the national civil service examination, or guokao, to drop slightly this year, even though the 10-day window to submit applications closes on Oct 24. However, it is still too early to say that youths are losing interest in guokao. As a matter of fact, there could be a surge in the number of applications on the last two days.

The popularity of guokao depends largely on a wide range of applicant-related factors.

In other words, the expected drop in the number of applications for guokao cannot be related to the anti-corruption drive in China. As a corollary, more applications for guokao do not necessarily indicate rising levels of corruption. On the contrary, more applicants for civil service jobs mean tougher employment situation in the country.