A little boost before the exam, straight into your arm

China is abuzz at the moment with pictures allegedly uploaded by a student at a high school where learners are given amino acids on IV drips to help them study, while they study. The photos were uploaded to one of China’s many Twitter-like micro-blogging sites.

The photos show students at Xiaogan No.1 High School in Hubei province hooked up to IV drips of amino acids ahead of their all-important college entrance exams- equivalent to our Senior Certificate exams- which are seen as a vital stepping stone into a successful career.

Apparently, the service was originally only available in the school infirmary, but massive demand led the school to install the drips in classrooms where students study.

Mr. Xia, director of Office of Academic Affairs at the school, told reporters that students are administered with amino acids intravenously to keep their energy levels up, and that apparently the state grants a 10 yuan subsidy for amino acids to each graduating senior that will participate in the gao kao (National College Entrance Exam).

ITN produced a gallery of the photos in the video after the jump. Suddenly those all-nighters I pulled as a student, chock-full of Bioplus pale by comparison, and these are high school students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNjnRF4hmgc

Reactions in China have ranged from outrage to sympathy. Many Chinese know the pressures the students face to achieve in the college entrance exams, but others question the extremes to which they are being pushed to achieve.

[Sources: ITN, Times Live, Daily Mail]