The country's "bonus points" system for the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, is once again under scrutiny after an unusually large number of students in Henan and Liaoning provinces received bonus marks in this year's exams for their "excellent sports performance".

The parents of students who have not gained such "special treatment" are naturally concerned that some children are receiving an undeserved helping hand and they are questioning the fairness of the college admission system.

Despite the repeated exposure of malpractices involving college enrollment across the country in previous years, the exams are still seen by most as the fairest and most effective way to select senior high school students with good academic performances to higher college education, although most also agree it is not perfect.

However, the awarding of bonus points to unqualified applicants in Henan and Liaoning provinces this year was so blatant that it is impossible to ignore.

According to a stipulation by the Ministry of Education, students with national-level athletics certificates receive an additional 10 points. Of the 738 gaokao students in central Henan who were awarded bonus points for their sporting prowess, 445 had national-level athletics certificates issued by a locally organized martial arts tournament. While 74 students from the province's Luohe Senior High School qualified for the sports-proficiency bonus points, 38 of them received their certificates because of their participation in the same local tournament, which set almost no threshold for participants if a certain amount of money was paid to the organizer.

According to reports, participants were required to pay 12,000 yuan ($1,930) to take part in the tournament, in return, the organizer provided the participants with the required certificate. According to the organizer, the holding of the martial arts tournament was not aimed at purely identifying the martial arts abilities of participants, it was also intended to promote and carry forward the "martial arts" spirit. The organizer also claimed that students had to undergo a one-year training program in their spare time before they could participate in the tournament and only those with the necessary ability were endowed with a certificate.