From Chinese Press

Battle for good schools not good

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-19 10:13

The 11,000 yuan ($1,684) charged as fees for 12 courses to coach children to pass interviews for admission to "premier" primary schools in Nanjing is indeed very high. Such courses have become common in China, and they have a large market, says an article on people.com.cn. Excerpts:

To get their children admitted to "premier" primary schools, some parents spend a lot of money on their training and preparation. The cause of this growing trend is the mindset of Chinese parents, who seem to be driven by the aphorism, don't let your children lose at the starting line.

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Competition to get admitted to kindergartens is getting fiercer by the day. No wonder, the high-end courses have become popular among parents despite being ridiculous.

It is time parents rethought their priorities. After all, life is not only about getting admitted to good schools. There are a lot of other things that are more important in life than "children succeeding at the starting line".

The trend also reflects the shortage and unbalanced resources in China's education system, because a student has to pass many levels of examinations to attend key universities, and the first step toward that is getting admitted to a "premier" kindergarten.

The government has to change this unbalanced situation by ensuring that all schools have equal educational resources and qualified and competent teachers. The rising demand for higher education across the country can be met only if all the schools have the same standard.

If the authorities do not take proper measures to ensure that, there will be more conflicts among parents and schools, which could lead to more unhealthy practices.

(China Daily 04/19/2011 page17)