Xi'an Jiaotong University scraps English proficiency tests for graduation

Xi'an Jiaotong University announced it will no longer use the results of College English Tests as a requirement for degree awards, sparking a heated debate among netizens.

A notice from Xi'an Jiaotong University, one of China's top universities located in the northwest Shannxi Province, showed that starting from September 1, 2023, the university would not use the results of the CET-4 and CET-6, school-based English proficiency tests, and other off-campus English proficiency exams as requirements for graduation and awarding bachelor's degrees.

The decision was made in the fifth undergraduate academic council in 2023, according to the notice.

The staff member stated that the decision was made through consultation, and other universities had also taken similar actions, so it was not a strange choice.

In 2013, the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council reiterated in response to the suggestions of NPC deputies that it did not formulate any measures to link the award of bachelor's degrees with the CET-4. The English proficiency test being linked with degree granting is a "voluntary action" taken by universities themselves.

In recent years, many universities have announced that the award of their degrees is no longer linked to the results of the CET-4 and CET-6.

The news sparked intense debate on social media, with some supporting the move, saying that English proficiency should be linked to students' majors rather than being a general requirement for all.

Others opposed decoupling the English exams from degree awards, arguing that it showed a lack of emphasis on English language education, lowered the graduation threshold, and undermined the cultivation of high-quality personnel in all respects.

However, Xiong Bingqi, the director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, told Dahe Daily that the universities' decision was not a sign of devaluing English education but a move away from exam-oriented English teaching. English teaching should return to the original goal of improving English proficiency rather than merely achieving good exam results, Xiong said.