With China in the grip of exam fever, the country has launched a new monitoring system for the all-important college entrance exams to ensure the exams proceed smoothly and prevent cheating.

The new system went into operation Thursday as the 2007 National College Entrance Examination got underway.

The National Education Examination Authority (NEEA) director Dai Jiagan said the system was based on local school networks and connected with provincial headquarters specially set up for the exam.

"All exam venues in more than 15 Chinese provinces and regions can be monitored and viewed via a huge screen," he said.

Inspectors can see what is happening at each exam venue and also talk with local exam officials.

According to Dai, the system can respond to emergencies rapidly.

"The system will also help combat cheating during the exam," he said.

Before the national platform was set up, many Chinese provinces and regions had already established their own networks. In central China's Hunan Province, 200 million yuan was invested to install monitoring devices in all 346 exam venues.

Dai revealed that the government plans to cover 31 provinces and regions within three years and offer services for other national exams.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Education announced it would set up a public "credibility record" for test-takers to prevent exam fraud. Cases of cheating in national educational tests such as the college entrance exam would be entered on the record which higher educational institutions and employers can consult.

"These records will be stored in the system," Dai said.

Education chiefs have taken a set of measures to clean up exams, including requiring test-takers to sign written pledges and increasing security checks at exam venues.

But cheating is still a big temptation to many candidates. In last year's national college exam, about 3,000 students were caught cheating. In 2005, the number was 1,300.

The National College Entrance Examination is one of the most important examinations in China, because it is the only chance for most high school students to get access to higher education.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education showed a record 10.1 million people had applied to take the exam, but only 5.67 million will be able to enter college.

Source: Xinhua