The Resumption of the College Entrance Examinations
In 1977, China reintroduced the college entrance examinations, which had been suspended for 10 years during the Cultural Revolution.
In early August 1977, Deng Xiaoping, who had just been reinstated after the Cultural Revolution, presided over a meeting on science and education. The participants requested that the college entrance examinations be restarted as soon as possible, and the proposal was endorsed by Deng. In September, the Ministry of Education decided to go ahead. In October, the State Council approved the ministry's report on holding national examinations in the winter of 1977 and agreed that all eligible workers, farmers, youth who had gone to countryside or stayed in cities, ex-servicemen, officials, and clerks, as well as senior high school graduates of that year, could take part. More than 5.7 million people from all walks of life sat the examinations and 273,000 of them were accepted by universities and colleges.
The resumption of the examinations ushered in the era of China's reform and opening up. This reflected the need for a large number of qualified people in various sectors, and the future of the next generations was transformed. It also laid sound foundations for China's development and take-off in the ensuing decades.
恢复高考
1977年，由于“文革”的冲击而中断了10年的中国高考制度得以恢复。1977年8月初，邓小平主持召开科学和教育工作座谈会时，与会者纷纷主张立即恢复高考，得到邓小平明确支持。9月，教育部召开全国高等学校招生工作会议，决定恢复已经停止了10年的全国高等院校招生考试，以统一考试、择优录取的方式选拔人才上大学。10月12日，国务院批转教育部《关于1977年高等学校招生工作的意见》规定，凡是工人、农民、上山下乡和回乡知识青年、复员军人、干部和应届毕业生，符合条件均可报考。1977年高考招生考试在冬季进行，新生第二年春季入学，有570多万人参加了考试，当年全国大专院校录取新生27.3万人。
高考制度的恢复，奏响了改革开放交响曲的序曲，不仅改变了几代人的命运，更为中国在新时期及其后的发展和腾飞奠定了良好基础。高考恢复使中国高等教育重新走上正轨，基础义务教育逐渐引起重视，并使国民经济各行各业急需的大批专业人才和知识精英快速涌现。
