Students are preparing for the professional?Ennglish test.[Photo/Agencies]

About 211 antiquated professional titles are reportedly to be abolished. However, the outdated English test that is one of the most popular professional qualification exams is not to be replaced. Comments:

As one of the most "popular" professional qualification exams that influence promotion and salary, the English test has been struggling to convince the public of its necessity and fairness. On the one hand, it is to some extent a waste of resources because many employees have already acquired higher-level English certificates before they started to work. On the other, although designed to improve employees' use of English, such an elementary English test is unlikely to serve as a major indicator of examinees' English skills, or, needless to say, help them with their jobs. Therefore, the English test for professional qualification should be canceled in line with the ongoing reform to streamline and decentralize administration.

xinhuanet.com, Sept 5

The deep-seated cause of the longevity of the outdated and useless English test for professional qualifications lies in the intertwined interests in which many parties have a share. Parasitic organizations such as training institutions and providers of teaching materials feed on the tuition and application fees that the nearly 1 million examinees pay per year.

cri.cn, Sept 2

The reform of the vocational English test should focus on "adaptability", meaning that the test should stop being a major obstacle for those who strive to be promoted. Also, the content of the test should vary from profession to profession, and employees who have certificates of the same level or above should be able to skip the test. More importantly, the viral network, in which exam-related parties illegally rake in money from the candidates, must be crushed for good.

scol.com.cn, Sept 6

Sharing a complete chain of profits, all involved in the vocational qualification exams, including some administrative departments and training institutions, have made the redundant even groundless qualifications almost "untouchable". Thus, apart from abolishing the more than 200 qualifications, all departments concerned have to break the profit chain.

West China Metropolis Daily, Sept 1