China warns against commercial activities in schools

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Education (MOE) on Friday warned middle schools, primary schools and kindergartens nationwide against any form of commercial advertisements and activities.

The warning was based on a recent incident in the city of Heze, eastern China's Shandong Province, where students at a local primary school were handed yellow caps and Young Pioneers' red scarves with advertisements of a local shopping mall printed on them at an open activity on traffic safety.

In its statement, the ministry said that the incident was "very bad in nature," and asked local authorities to draw lessons from it and take measures to prevent such advertisements and activities from entering schools and kindergartens.

The MOE called on local education departments to carry out a complete examination across schools and kindergartens, to check if there are any advertisements on students' textbooks, stationery, school buses and other objects, especially on the red scarves, which are worn by Chinese Young Pioneers aged between 6 and 14.

The departments should also set up systems to record and examine activities which allow organizations to go into schools, regarding the activities' subjects, organizers and participants, and reduce those that are not related to the schools' educational functions, the statement reads.