The Ministry of Education is tightening up a preferential policy that awards bonus points in the national college entrance exams, or gaokao, to students with exceptional ability in the sciences and sports, amid recent worries about abuse of the system.

The ministry is reducing the number of slots for such students and limiting the events that entitle them to the bonus points starting with this year's college admission period, according to a statement posted on its website on Monday.

"The new policy is meant to ensure the equity of college admissions by reducing the threat of fraud and abuse," said Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education.