Parents paying additional fees to good schools to ensure their children can enroll is a common practice in Guangdong Province.

However, a group of 32 members of the Guangdong Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference submitted a proposal to this year's session, which ended early last week, asking for the suspension of these "extra school fees". The fees are usually paid to key schools.

The members certainly believe it is time to end this practice, but how do teachers and local government officials feel about the issue?

"Parents will pay the charge since they always want their children to be educated at good schools. It partly explains why extra school fees have existed for years. If we want to abandon such fees then we have to change parents' minds first.

"In my opinion, these fees will not be called off until all schools are able to share the same educational resources."

Liu Xuemei, a teacher at Guangzhou No 17 Middle School

"It is urgent to suspend extra school fees levied on students for entering schools that have relatively higher quality of resources. Schools should enroll students based on their academic performance since they sit the same examination before graduation. 

"Levying extra fees will, undoubtedly, lead to unfair distribution of educational resources. Money should play a minor role in the education sector to ensure fair and open access for all children to enter high school, children from both poor and rich families.

"If all educational resources are shared only by students from rich families, who are in a position to afford the higher extra school fees, a bigger problem will develop So, extra school fees should be banned as soon as possible."

Zeng Dexiong, a deputy to the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress

"It is absolutely illegal since there are no government laws to support it. As far as I know, such fees have been collected by government-funded schools for years.

"Since these schools are financially supported by governments, they should allow all children to enjoy studying resources. Such fees can only be collected by privately run schools."

Meng Hao, a member of the Guangdong Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference.

"To call off these fees is not our present goal, but rather our ultimate goal. So, there is still a long way to go until we reach the goal.

"We will spare no efforts to balance educational resources across all schools in the city. To this end, we will invest more in schools which used to have lower government financial support, especially those in rural areas."

Luo Weiqi, director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education

"Personally, I don't support schools collecting extra fees since educational resources should be shared by all children. I have called on related officials in the city to reconsider these charges, and I promise that Guangzhou will soon abolish such fees.

"We will increase capital input into schools that are not as good as others. Only when the gap between schools closes will fewer students have to chose which school they wish to attend."

Zhang Guangning, mayor of Guangzhou

"It is good to call off the extra fees since it is a real financial burden on most ordinary families. But how we can ensure children have access to good schools?"

Tang Jiamin, a father of a 13-year-old boy from Guangzhou

(China Daily February 14, 2007)