Candidates for the national graduate entrance examination line up for a test at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing on Saturday. MAO YANZHENG / CHINA DAILY

The 2014 national graduate school entrance examination, which took place over the weekend, saw a drop in the number of candidates this year.

Admission officials said the end of tuition-free postgraduate courses might be behind the decline in numbers.

The Ministry of Education said on Saturday that 1.72 million people participated in this year's examination, a decline of 40,000 from last year. It was the first drop in five years.

According to the Beijing Education Examinations Authority, about 250,000 people applied for universities in Beijing in 2014, a drop of 7.85 percent compared with 2013.

This year is the first in which free postgraduate education has been replaced with university scholarships, and the first with no age restrictions on entry.

In the past, the Ministry of Education's enrollment guide on graduate exam registration stated that, in general, applicants should be younger than 40, although there was no age limit for those willing to pay for their own tuition.

The director of the graduate admissions office at China University of Political Science and Law, who identified himself only as Li, said the tuition policy change means students may need to pay their tuition themselves if they do not win a university scholarship, but that getting a scholarship isn't difficult for good students.

"It may seem to be a financial burden for some students," he said. "But in fact, the university provides substantial scholarships for those getting good grades in the entrance exam. There is no big difference compared with previous years. Some students may misunderstand the policy, so they didn't take the exams."

Li said another reason for the decline is that the media reported in May that students that graduate from universities in the capital with a master's degree need to be younger than 27 years old to apply for a Beijing hukou, or permanent residency.

"Previously, getting a Beijing hukou by obtaining a master's degree here was a big incentive," he said. "Now, the age limits may disappoint some of those reaching or older than 27, although no official regulation has come out yet."

Li said that about 8,000 candidates applied for admission at his university in 2014. The figure was about 1,000 fewer than last year.