Humans are not born equal. One’s weakness is another’s strength. But in a private Chinese school, they turn this inherent disparity into a business: its low-scoring students are forced to pay their more successful students.
“Fees range from 200 (SGD$42) to 500 (SGD$106) yuan and are handed over to those with good grades,” a report said.
Teachers then collect the money by force; those who fail to hand money over are threatened with expulsion.
According to the same report, the Chengbei private school in central China, has had the policy in effect since the beginning of the academic year.
“China National Radio reported that one of the student’s parents had posted the school’s notification text on the internet, where the penalty system was to be covered by extra tuition fees.”
The school defended itself by saying that they are a private institution, and is therefore allowed to implement class rules at its discretion.
Readers of China National Radio was quick to express their opinions over the school’s the policy, and surprisingly, the reactions were mixed.
Some were peeved: “If you really want to inspire your students, 5 yuan (less than $1) is enough. Charging this much is suspicious.”
Others were nonchalant: “To be frank, a private school is just like a company. A teacher’s salary is proportional to how good the students’ grades are.”
And then there were those who were less sympathetic: “Private School! Since you have the money to go to private school how come you don’t have that 200 yuan? Why not go to public school if you don’t like it there?”
Another said: “The scariest thing is not what the school did, but that there are actually people saying it’s good.”
But perhaps the most important of these reactions were by this one commenter who said: “The scariest thing is not what the school did, but that there are actually people saying it’s good.”
Schools should cultivate an environment of learning. They should never inspire indignation or fear that their inability to grasp a lecture quickly will result in punishment, or in this case loss of money.
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