Society

School officials told to appoint student snitches

By Guo Anfei and Hu Yongqi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-20 07:31

Seven students involved in the violence in the No 1 Middle School in Kunming's Guandu district get ready to return to school on Thursday after receiving law education. Wang Yuheng / for China Daily

Move comes after case of school violence in Yunnan

KUNMING - Schools in the capital of Yunnan province must appoint a handful of their students to monitor schoolmates and report any prohibited behavior in and out of school, Kunming's education and public security bureaus have stated.

Head teachers of elementary, junior high and senior high schools will have to select two or three of the "snitches" to report cases of violence, Internet pornography use and other undesirable behavior to boost students' safety, the latest joint notice by the bureaus stated.

Students aged between 12 and 17 who are found to have committed these offenses will be sent to boarding schools for lessons on the law, it said.

The notice follows a case of school violence on Nov 23 last year, when 11 boys at the No 1 Middle School of Kunming's Guandu district filmed their beating of a girl before sharing the video with other students.

At the end of the year, the education and public security bureaus will also evaluate all schools based on information collected by the appointed students.

The 10 schools ranked worst in the evaluation will not be eligible for the year-end appraisal for elite schools, authorities said.

But a number of people have criticized the latest move, citing the control of teen violence and crimes are the responsibility of police. Appointing students as snitches will also worsen relations among the student population, they said.

The education and public security bureaus could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Yan Xiang, a six-grade student at Hongqi Primary School in Kunming's Wuhua district, said he does not understand the meaning of snitches.

"I go to school to gain knowledge and I am not interested in such activities," the 12-year-old said.

His mother, Guo Guili, said her child should be totally engaged in his studies as he will go to middle school next semester.

"I don't want him to waste time ratting out fellow students," she said.

"Snitching on others will endanger him. More importantly, I am afraid my child will be affected if he is exposed to more violence."

CHINA DAILY

(China Daily 03/20/2010 page3)