JINAN - Shandong, one of China's most populous provinces, will cease its preferential college admission policy for ethnic minorities next year.

Senior high school students of ethnic minorities in the eastern province will no longer enjoy a five-point bonus for the college entrance exam, sources with the provincial education department told Xinhua on Sunday.

All Chinese mainland applicants to colleges and universities must take the annual college entrance exam. The points they register from the highly competitive exam, plus any bonus points they qualify for according to certain policies, are the sole basis upon which Chinese colleges accept students.

The preferential policies, under which certain applicants can receive bonus points, are managed by each province, municipality or autonomous region where the applicant is based.

These policies usually reward offspring of certain people, for example the children of people who have made considerable contributions to society, or applicants with some outstanding achievements, such as in sport.

In Shandong, China's third-largest provincial economy with nearly 100 million people, ethnic minority applicants can get five-point bonus in addition to their exam scores. An applicant can score no more than 750 in the exam.

Over 4,800 students enjoyed bonus points in Shandong last year, among whom over 4,400 were ethnic minorities.

Many provinces have been winding down preferential policies in recent years, as public concerns have risen regarding fairness, and cases of fabricating documents to qualify for the policies have been frequently reported by Chinese media.

Most Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, however, will not change their preferential policies for ethnic minorities.