English proficiency tests are canceled due to virus outbreak

All TOEFL, GRE and IELTS tests in China’s mainland have been canceled due to the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia outbreak, test administrators said today.

In consultation with education authorities, ETS, administrator of TOEFL and GRE, has decided to cancel all February TOEFL and GRE tests at all centers throughout the Chinese mainland. The British Council, administrator of IELTS, is canceling tests on January 31 and in February at all mainland test centers.

Test fees will be returned to personal registration accounts, according to the website (http://www.neea.edu.cn/) of the National Education Examinations Authority under the Ministry of Education.

“As of January 26, 30 provincial governments in China had announced a level-one public health emergency response, which calls for all round measures to contain the spread of coronavirus at all public venues including test centers,” according to the website. “We will closely follow national and local anti-epidemic development and update post-February arrangements of registration and testing activities.”

On January 25, GMAT announced that all GMAT tests in Hubei Province in February would be canceled with immediate effect, and full refunds credited to candidates’ personal accounts from January 31.

“Test takers who have registered for tests outside Hubei Province can contact GMAT APAC Customer Care (+852-30774926) before January 30 or GMAT China Customer Care (+86-10-82345675) from January 31 onward to cancel their scheduled tests in February,” it said.