Students in their final year of high school in China are sitting in for the annual college entrance exam on Saturday.

But those from areas hard hit by last month's earthquake will have more time to prepare as the exam for them has been postponed.

The Ministry of Education and universities nation-wide have promised that these students will have an equal chance and a stable environment to prepare for the exams.

Our Reporter Lin Lin has more.

Reporter:

Students at Ningqiang School in Shaanxi Province are vowing to be honest during the upcoming exam and with strong minds and hearts, in the aftermath of the earthquake that destroyed their hometowns.

It is one of the quake-hit areas where the undergraduate admission exam will take place on time.

The students are going to take the exam in temporary shelters, and are practicing to overcome any difficulty that may arise during the exam.

Shi Zhengyi is the principal of a high school in Shannxi's Ningqiang County.

''If an earthquake hits during the exam, the teachers will lead the students to safety. Policemen are standing by outside the classroom to help us. After last month's earthquake, we staged evacuation drills so that the students can feel secure.''

Some students are studying from hospital beds as they recover from injuries. Wang Li is in a hospital in Chongqing.

''I am confident that I can do well. I am using every second to study. I want to achieve my dreams through my own efforts.''
In some hard hit areas, students have to wait for some time, but they don't have to be concerned that they will not have equal chance for admission.

China's Ministry of Education has ordered universities to implement preferential policies for these students.

Universities were ordered to set aside at least 20 percent of their admission quota for Sichuan for students from the province's quake areas. The percentage set for neighboring Gansu Province, which was also hit by last month's earthquake, is 10 percent.

In addition, universities were ordered to offer these students great latitude in choosing majors.

Fu Zetian, the deputy president of China's Agriculture University says nearly all the university's majors are open to students from disaster areas.

''We opened up 91 percent of the majors to the students from the quake area. Once they are admitted, they are allowed to change majors according the needs of their hometowns, as the quake area may need talented graduates from majors like architecture and urban planning.''

Millions of Chinese students take part in the national college entrance exam every year. The exam is regarded as a turning point in a student's life as the results determine if the student can go to a college.

Lin Lin, CRI news.