Universities in China have started cancelling entrance examinations for overseas students, citing coronavirus concerns, as the central city of Wuhan reported a new cluster of cases for the first time since its lockdown was lifted.
China’s prestigious Peking University (Beida), Renmin University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have all cancelled exam requirements for overseas students in recent days, according to announcements on their official websites. “To protect the health of the majority of candidates during the coronavirus pandemic … the university has taken the decision to cancel the written examinations for international students applying to being in an undergraduate programme in 2020,” Beida said in an announcement on its website.
The cancellations will effectively make it far easier for international students to win places at top Chinese universities, analysts said.