The British Council said its IELTS examinations across China would resume Wednesday, ending four days of cancellations stemming from technical problems that left test takers scrambling at the height of the overseas university admissions season.

The organisation announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would hold two free make-up sessions on October 19 and 20 for affected candidates and reimburse reasonable travel and accommodation costs for those who travelled to testing centres.

The cancellations, which began on Saturday and continued through Tuesday, marked a rare nationwide breakdown since the International English Language Testing System was introduced to mainland China in 1989.

The British Council attributed the suspensions to “technical problems” without elaborating and classified the disruptions as force majeure, according to Chinese media.

In a statement on its Chinese official website on Tuesday, the British Council said the technical failure “may have affected examination security” and that cancelling the affected sessions had been necessary “to safeguard the fairness, impartiality and credibility of the test”.

It also announced several remedial measures. Affected test takers will receive a full refund, and those who have alreadyed for other dates may retain their existing booking while receiving either a refund for one test fee or a transfer to a make-up session free of charge.

Candidates unable to attend the October make-up dates who have not yeted for another sitting will receive a free voucher for the same test type, valid through the end of December.

The disruptions occurred just weeks after traditional paper-based IELTS examinations in mainland China ended in September, with computer-delivered testing now the primary mode. No information has been disclosed as to how many people had been affected by the cancellations.

The National Business Daily reported that a staff member from China’s National Education Examinations Authority – which partners with the British Council to administer examinations – said the organisation had decided unilaterally to cancel the tests.

IELTS examinations are not offered in all Chinese cities nor on all dates, meaning that many candidates must travel to other cities and make advance arrangements for transit and accommodation.

The disruptions struck at a critical juncture for Chinese students applying to universities in Hong Kong, Britain, Singapore and other destinations, as autumn application season typically runs between September and October.

Some candidates hold conditional offers that require verified language results to secure their places.

The cancellation included IELTS One Skill Retake, an option enabling test takers who previously completed all four sections to repeat only a single component – listening, reading, writing or speaking – to boost their overall results.

On Chinese social media platforms, distressed candidates shared accounts of sudden operational paralysis and dashed timelines.

A number of affected test takers reported that automated cancellation notices arrived as late as 9pm on the evening before their scheduled sitting. Many candidates had already paid out of pocket for hotels and travel arrangements. Some also complained that they may not be able to meet application deadlines for institutions next week.

Meanwhile, test centres operated independently by IDP: IELTS Australia have functioned without interruption.

On Sunday, the Melbourne-based company, which manages 29 computer-delivered centres in mainland China, announced it would open additional IELTS exam slots between October 17 and October 31 to accommodate affected candidates.