High school principals and their educational policies have come under scrutiny following the release of the results of the "gaokao," or national college entrance examinations.

This year 9.15 million students sit the national college entrance exam, or gaokao. [File photo]

It has become an annual ritual for parents and media to judge the performance of the nation's schools based on their students' entrance exam scores, with schools producing higher scores attracting more students.

But some argue that the importance of these scores has overridden the true value of education and turned high schools into "factories" for students who can only memorize facts and figures.

Some educators and schools, in fact, have begun to make some changes.

Primary and secondary education in China has long been accused of sapping the physical and mental development of students in favor of producing high test scores, with some targeting educators who pursue higher enrollment rates at the expense of students' wellbeing.

"The school heads are a major obstacle for educational reform," said Fang Zhanhua, head of the Zhejiang Research Institute of Education Science.

Students are categorized according to their performance in exams at a very young age, with teachers paying more attention to students who do well.

Some educators are working to find new ways to boost their students' creativity and make their classes more diverse while maintaining high performance.

Henghu Primary School in the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province has pared down its curriculum for basic subjects, arranging more elective classes and outdoor activities. The school has purchased a plot of land on a nearby hill, where students take elective courses in gardening and ecology.

"The students' scores are not actually proportional to the time they spend studying. They have more to do with the interest the students have in the subjects they are learning about," said Jin Weiming, the school's headmaster.

The education department of the provincial government of Zhejiang announced on June 18 that senior high schools will have the right to set their own curricula, as the current uniform curriculum will be abandoned starting in September. The department said the percentage of elective classes that will be allowed to be counted toward a student's final credit total will be increased.

Education that results in all-around development does not necessarily result in lower enrollment rates, according to department head Liu Xiping, adding that exam scores can improve when students' interests and potential are stimulated.

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