Exams in Asia

Here in Asia, particularly China and Korea, exams are crucial. Now and again I see a story that highlights this. Here's a slice of life from Eastern China from the AP and Yahoo news.

Parents get plane diverted during exam
Thu Jun 7, 6:29 AM ET
Parents in eastern China have pushed to get a plane diverted to avoid disturbing their children taking nationwide university entrance exams that could make or break their futures, state media reported Thursday.
Xinhua News Agency said the students are taking their two-day exams, which started Thursday, at a school close to Huangshan airport in Anhui province.
Their parents, worried noise from an aircraft taking takeoff would mar the English comprehension test on Friday, appealed to the local education department and the airport decided to divert the plane.
Across China, about 9.5 million students are taking the entrance exams, competing for 5.67 million spots. It will be the only chance for most of the students to get into a university.