A new reform system for college entrance exams, also known as gaokao, will be established by 2020, said Chen Baosheng, education minister and a delegate to the 19th CPC National Congress.

A pilot reform for college recruitment has been put in place in Shanghai and Zhejiang province this year, Chen told cyol.com on Thursday.

The reform gives high-school students extra chances in the college entrance test and more choices in selection of subjects.

The new measure will be tested in four other provinces this year before a reform system is to built up nationwide by 2020, Chen said.

He said the reform on the gaokao system over the past five years has been the most extensive and challenging one since the resumption of the exam four decades ago.

Other efforts to ensure equal access to higher education that have been carried out over the past five years include admitting more students from impoverished or rural areas, and allowing children of migrating populations to sit college entrance tests in the cities where they live, said Chen.