BEIJING -- China's national college entrance exam for 2022, also known as gaokao, will be held on June 7 and 8, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced Saturday.

The MOE called for efforts to strictly implement COVID-19 prevention measures and improve contingency plans for possible COVID-19 resurgence amid the upcoming national college entrance exam.

In 2020, the national exam was held on July 7 and 8 after being delayed by a month due to COVID-19, but it was back to schedule last year.

The Shanghai Municipal government Saturday said the city's entrance examinations for colleges and senior high schools will be postponed for a month due to the latest resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

Gaokao is deemed critical to social mobility and national talent selection in China. More than 10 million students took the exam across the country in 2021.