
Examinations restart Wednesday following a four-day nationwide breakdown during peak admissions season.
The British Council announced IELTS examinations across China will resume Wednesday after a four-day cancellation due to technical issues, offering free make-up sessions and refunds.
AI-generated summary
The International English Language Testing System experienced a rare nationwide breakdown in mainland China starting Saturday.
The British Council said its IELTS examinations across China would resume Wednesday, ending four days of cancellations stemming from technical problems that left test takers scrambling at the height of the overseas university admissions season.
The organisation announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would hold two free make-up sessions on October 19 and 20 for affected candidates and reimburse reasonable travel and accommodation costs for those who travelled to testing centres.
The cancellations, which began on Saturday and continued through Tuesday, marked a rare nationwide breakdown since the International English Language Testing System was introduced to mainland China in 1989.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Make-up sessions will be held on October 19 and 20.
Very likely · Within weeks
Taiwan’s education system is facing a serious aging problem. Affected by the declining birthrate and pension reform, young teachers are hindered from joining the workforce and the retirement of senior teachers is delayed, resulting in a generational gap among teachers in primary and secondary schools and higher education. Public opinion is concerned that this phenomenon will weaken the inheritance of teaching experience and affect the quality of education.

IELTS exams and single-subject retests in many places in mainland China have been temporarily canceled due to technical reasons. The organizer, the British Council, announced follow-up arrangements and decided to refund the fees in full, resume exams from October 14, and add free sessions, issue exam vouchers, and reimburse the transportation and accommodation expenses of candidates from other places.

The IELTS test in many places in China was suddenly suspended due to "technical reasons". In some examination rooms, the test was even forcibly interrupted in the middle, and candidates were forced to leave the venue while answering. The suspension of exams was extended to the 12th and there was no unified make-up exam, causing a large number of candidates who urgently needed their scores to be reviewed and applied to study abroad to cry outside the venue. The organizer only refunded the registration fee and did not compensate for the heavy costs such as leave, transportation and accommodation, which caused public outcry and leaked questions. The lawyer pointed out that stopping midway constituted a serious breach of contract and should be held liable for compensation. Netizens on social media have speculated that there are leaks of test questions or political factors behind it.
A press conference from the Ministry of Education revealed that as of the end of 2025, there were 10,792 vocational schools nationwide with 33.5596 million students enrolled, and vocational education majors cover all fields of the national economy. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, vocational education funding increased by 23.3% to 757 billion yuan, forming a pattern of government investment as the mainstay and multi-channel financing.

The Ministry of Education originally planned to add 200 two-year-old classes in public kindergartens from 2024 to 2026. Currently, 600 classes have been added, three times the original target. From 2017 to this year, the government has subsidized the establishment of more than 4,100 public kindergarten classes, with nearly 270,000 public education and security places. This year, it will invest more than 500 million yuan to add classes and kindergartens. According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Education, the enrollment rate of two-year-old children in kindergarten has increased from 14 to 14 in the 105 school year. 7%, increased to 64 in the 114 academic year. one%.

Malaysian Minister of Education Farina announced that due to unhealthy levels of air pollution index, schools in Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya have been suspended. The suspension of classes in Johor has been extended to October 16. Face-to-face classes have also been suspended in some areas of Selangor and Pahang.