The rating session of the college entrance exam in Zhejiang province. (Photo: zjzs.net)

BEIJING - The National Education Examination Authority (NEEA), under the Ministry of Education, has admonished the provincial exam authority in east China's Zhejiang over the leak of a student's essay in this year's college entrance exam.

The local authority was urged to promptly investigate the incident and handle it in accordance with the law and regulations.

The marking and grading of the college entrance exam will affect the fairness of the exam and the vital interests of the students, said the NEEA in a notice published on Friday.

The NEEA said that there are strict working rules for graders, including bans on disclosing information about the grading, or students' answer sheets.

In the meantime, those who set the questions for the exams are banned from revealing their identities to the public, or offering tutorial classes.

The NEEA also pledged to further strengthen the supervision and guidance of local authorities, and improve the regulations to ensure fairness in the college entrance exam.