Number of Chinese Taking National Exam Falls Again

The exam, which was held from Friday to Sunday, was taken by 9.12 million students, or 30,000 fewer than last year. The number of test-takers peaked in 2008 at 10.5 million, according to the Ministry of Education.

According to the ministry, nearly one million students who were eligible to take the gaokao in 2010 decided against it. Of those students, about one-fifth decided to study abroad instead.

The state media have reported on continued problems with cheating. The Global Times reported that Jilin Province would use security checks to bar any metal gadgets or even clothing parts, because of past use of wireless digital devices. — CORINNE DILLON

U.K. makes another change to testing with new I-levels

If the “O” in O-levels — the exams that all British students used to take at age 16 — stood for “ordinary,” and the “A” in A-levels, which they take at the end of high school, stands for “advanced,” it figures that the “I” in the new I-levels stands for “intermediate.”

According to a consultation paper by Ofqual, the British exam regulator, the new tests will be phased in starting in the autumn of 2015 and will cover the core subjects of English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history and geography, The Times of London reported last week.

I-levels will replace the General Certificate of Secondary Education, or G.C.S.E., which itself replaced O-levels in 1988. The changes, which will affect England, Wales and Northern Ireland, mark the second attempt by Education Minister Michael Gove to do away with the GCSEs. — D.D. GUTTENPLAN

Japan to host 1,000 interns and students from Africa

Addressing a delegation of visiting African leaders from 50 countries, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced a plan to invite 1,000 African students to study and intern in Japan.

At the fifth meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, held in Yokohama this month, Mr. Abe said that his government would extend ¥10 billion, or $100 million, over a five-year period to bring African students and trainees to Japan in what is being called the “African Business Education Initiative for Youth.” It was unveiled as part of a wider economic aid package. — MIKI TANIKAWA

Singapore law professor convicted of corruption

A Singapore law professor convicted of trading grades for sexual favors and gifts from a student has been sentenced to five months in prison. Tey Tsun Hang, a former professor at the National University of Singapore, is expected to appeal the decision.

Mr. Tey, 42, who was fired after his conviction and sentenced last week, was found to have had sexual relations with Darinne Ko, 23, and taken gifts that included an iPod and tailored shirts. According to media reports, Mr. Tey denied corrupt intent, saying the student would have obtained similar grades in any case.

Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye said in court that Mr. Tey had used a position of trust and “exploited the vulnerability” of his former student, according to The Straits Times. The judge cited what he said was Mr. Tey’s “callousness” when he asked Ms. Ko to abort the pregnancy that resulted from their relationship. — KRISTIANO ANG

TEDx’s education event to be a first in Asia-Pacific

TEDx, a series of talks organized by a nonprofit organization, will hold its first education-themed conference in the Asia-Pacific region in Hong Kong on Saturday, organizers have said.

The event, “School’s Out,” will feature 13 speakers, including Peter Kenny, founder of Branksome Hall Asia, a boarding school in South Korea, and Melissa Lee, founder of the Fairytale Project, a collaborative work with the artist Ai Weiwei. — YENNI KWOK

University of Mumbai site crashes due to overload

The University of Mumbai’s first attempt to have students preregister online has run into trouble with complaints of the Web site crashing and being overloaded by the demand.

Although the site is now functioning, students quoted by the Times of India said they had been unable to complete their online registration last week.

“We are expecting 200,000 students to preregister,” Vinod Malale, a university representative, said by telephone last week. “Every hour, between 4,000 and 5,000 students are continuing to preregister. So with so many students there were some problems and our servers were slightly slow.” The university was adding additional bandwidth to meet the demand. — GAYATRI RANGACHARI SHAH

Number of Chinese Taking National Exam Falls Again