China’s national civil servants examination kicks off Sunday.
China’s national civil servants exam has only 27,000 positions but there are around 1.4 million applicants this year. This exam is said to be one of the toughest and most competitive exams in the country.
This year’s civil servants exam has been dubbed as the most difficult one with the introduction of the criminal law. Anyone found cheating during the exam may be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
One of the most sought-after posts for 2016 comes from the country’s skilled personnel commendation office, with roughly 3,000 candidates competing for one position. In 2010, around 10,000 applicants competed for the most sought after post. On an average this year, there are 50 applicants per post, which is the lowest ratio ever.
Some people are wondering whether the increase in this year’s recruitment is due to the many vacant positions in government offices with people leaving their jobs for other opportunities.
However, the spokesman of China’s Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security has said that it has nothing to do with brain drain. A lot of people are due to retire this year and there are many posts that need to be filled, the spokesman added.