More than 1.65 million Chinese will take the entrance exam for postgraduate studies from January 7 to 9, up 9.6 percent year-on-year, sources with the Ministry of Education (MOE) said Thursday.

The ministry has emphasized discipline at the entrance exams, vowing to crack down on group cheating using telecommunication tools and discourage the illegal operation of social training institutions.

The MOE also urged the establishment of a credibility system, stating that all educational institutions that recruit postgraduates should take applicants' credit assessments into account during the recruitment procedure.

Enthusiasm for postgraduate studies has been growing since 2001, as the domestic job market has become increasingly competitive in recent years.