'Sponsor fee' under fire

A vast majority of parents think a "sponsor fee" charged by elite schools should be deemed commercial bribery, according to the results of a survey released yesterday.

A sponsor fee is typically charged by good schools for admitting students who do not otherwise qualify because they live outside the school's catchment area.

But four in five of the 2,185 netizens polled by China Youth Daily said they believe it is a form of commercial bribery and so should be dealt with as a crime.