Special Class for the Gifted Young

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The Special Class for the Gifted Young (SCGY, Chinese: 少年班^[1]) is a program aimed to select gifted young students to enter the universities in China. First established in 1978 at the University of Science and Technology of China, it was a major innovation in China's higher education.^[2] Eminent scientists including Tsung-Dao Lee, C. N. Yang, and Samuel C. C. Ting proposed creating the program, and the then Vice-premier of the State Council Fang Yi backed it.^[3] The objective of the class is to explore the most efficient ways to nurture promising youth.^[4] Peking University, Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, Wuhan University, Jilin University, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology also launched similar programs. But they were all shut down for all kinds of reasons. Currently, only the University of Science and Technology of China and Xi'an Jiaotong University still have this program.