This year 840,000 students spurned the college entrance examination, which is only an indication of the youth's changing attitude toward higher education and a new trend of social mobility, says an article in Changjiang Daily. Excerpt:

About 7.5 million high school graduates have registered to sit for this year's college entrance examination, scheduled for June 7 and 8. Some 840,000 seniors have decided to give the exam a miss.

Till now, the country's education authority has not broken its silence on why such a large number of school graduates are not keen on going to college.

Since China introduced the reform and opening-up policy 30 years ago, the college entrance examination has been regarded as the main channel of social stratification.

How many students sit for the exam and how many give it a miss is an indication of the public's attitude toward higher education and the trend of social mobility.

More than 10 percent of the country's high school graduates are not going to sit for the exam this year. It is not a small percentage.

The youngsters and their families have obviously taken their decisions after seriously considering the pros and cons of college education based on their judgment on current social conditions and expectations of their future.

However, it's hard to pass judgments going by the figures this year alone, as no records are available to show how many students spurned the exam in previous years or why.

In a free and vibrant society, there are a lot of options for a youngster and it is unwise to think of college entrance exams as the sole gateway to success.

Nevertheless, it is high time we paid attention to the decreasing number of college candidates and found out why so many students don't regard college education a must.

College life is not just about education, but also a platform for youngsters from different backgrounds to meet, socialize and exchange ideas.

If 10 percent of high school seniors this year have decided to skip the exam, there must be a reason, and we must know what it is. It's the only way to find out if this is a beginning of a downward trend.