More than 3.4 million Chinese have signed up for the 2020 national exam for postgraduate enrollment scheduled from Dec 21 to 23, the Ministry of Education said.

Students wait in line before taking the national postgraduate entrance exam at the University of South China in Hengyang, Central China's Hunan province, Dec 22, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)

The ministry has invited public oversight and tip-offs of exam-related wrongdoings including organized cheating and the peddling of so-called answers.

In accordance with the latest interpretation of applicable legal provisions, those acts will lead to criminal penalties, according to a statement by the ministry.

A total of 2.9 million Chinese students took the entrance exam for postgraduate studies last year, the highest number in the past 40 years, statistics from the ministry showed.