An examinee at the national civil servant examination in Hefei, Anhui province, on Sunday waits to take the test as a proctor checks her identity. Liu Junxi / Xinhua

BEIJING - For 28-year-old Lin Ying, taking the national civil servant examination in Ningbo of East China's Zhejiang province on Sunday was of extraordinary significance. Lin was one among the roughly 1.33 million hopefuls who sat the exam across the country, hoping to secure a stable job.

"I'm not sure if I would get a job in the government even though I took the exam. I'm here because my parents consider civil services a stable and sought-after career," she told China Daily on Sunday.

"My advantage is my work experience as a magazine editor," she said.

This year having at least two years of work experience is a pre-requisite for almost all vacancies in the central departments and their branches. Last year about 85 percent of the jobs required this qualification.

The exam attracted more than 1.41 million qualified applicants last year, and 1.44 million in 2009.

The State Administration of Civil Service attributed the decreasing numbers to stricter assessment standards adopted this year and more career paths opening up for university graduates.

More than 130 central departments and their grassroots institutions plan to recruit over 18,000 workers next year, an increase of 2,000 on this year.

The most sought-after position was a research post at the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, which drew 4,124 applications. Positions in some western and remote regions saw very few applications or none at all.

On Sunday noon, most examinees walked out of Beijing No 5 High School, one of the 2,940 test sites in Beijing, with a serious and tired expression after taking the administrative skills test.

Li Mingxiu, an examinee who complained about the large number of questions, said: "I had to give up answering one part of the test." She did not attempt the math part, selecting B for all math questions instead.

According to the Beijing-based Mirror Evening News, authorities would send wireless monitoring vehicles to intercept mobile signals to prevent cheating.

According to the State Administration of Civil Service, a database of examinees trying to cheat is being maintained. Examinees who violate test rules will be named on the database and forbidden to take the exam in the next five years.

Luo Wangshu contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/28/2011 page3)