Is it not an isolated phenomenon for schools to force the purchase of bedding for a set priced at 980 yuan? Netizen: My niece's school also requires it
On August 30th, a netizen posted a video stating that Zhongxian No.1 Middle School in Chongqing City requires parents to purchase bedding and other bedding for students on campus, with a price of up to 268 yuan per set. This matter has sparked heated discussions online and has been trending on Weibo.
The video shows that outside a building, many parents are queuing up to buy bedding, while school staff occasionally hand bedding to the parents. In the video caption, netizens accused the school of "buying and selling forcefully" and stated that the price was high and the quality was poor.
Regarding this, school staff stated that the school undertakes many reception tasks and needs to receive inspections from leaders at all levels. If students bring bedding that matches the school's requirements, they do not need to purchase it. Many netizens have also expressed their views on the school's approach - some have raised the question, "Does different bedding affect learning?" Some have questioned, "Others already have it, why spend extra money?" Some netizens believe that "uniform school uniforms can be understood. However, uniform bedding is too excessive."
Subsequently, the Education Commission of Zhongxian County issued a notice on August 31, publicly responding to this matter. The notice pointed out that the reason why the school provides bedding is based on the suggestions of some parents, in order to facilitate students to move into the campus after the start of school. The bedding supplier's quotation is 268 yuan/set, including padding, cover, bed sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, and pillowcases. Purchasing bedding is voluntary. Currently, 621 out of 650 students in the school have made purchases.
The Education Commission also stated that it will order the school to fully solicit the wishes of parents and students again. If there are any unwilling to purchase, the school will negotiate with the supplier for a refund. In addition, the Education Commission will learn from this incident to avoid similar situations in the future.
The fermentation of this incident has also aroused attention from all sectors of society to school management and student rights protection. The Rule of Law Research Institute has noticed that some netizens have also expressed their resonance in the comment section of such videos. Some netizens have reported, "My niece's school also requires the purchase of bedding, with a set priced as high as 980 yuan and of poor quality." Some have also said, "Over 200 yuan is considered very cheap, and our bedding costs 870 yuan."
Regarding this, Lawyer Wang Yi, a member of the Lawyer Expert Database of the Rule of Law Daily and Deputy Director of the Beijing Yingke Law Firm Management Committee, stated that if the school forcibly or indirectly forces students to purchase bedding, it is suspected that the school has violated Article 9 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, which stipulates that consumers have the right to independently choose goods or services. Consumers have the right to independently choose the operators who provide goods or services, choose the variety of goods or service methods, and decide whether to purchase or not to purchase any kind of goods, accept or not to accept any service. According to Article 13 and Article 15 of the Measures for Punishing Behaviors that Infringe Consumer Rights and Interests, forcing students to purchase designated bedding by the school is a compulsory consumption behavior that infringes on consumers' right to choose independently. It may be ordered to correct by the market supervision and management department, and may be given a single or multiple warnings. A fine of no more than three times the amount of illegal gains and no more than 30000 yuan shall be imposed. If there are no illegal gains, a fine of no more than 10000 yuan shall be imposed.
Lawyer Wang Yi also stated that if the school involved in the case is a public school, which belongs to an administrative agency and a public institution authorized by laws and regulations with the function of managing public affairs, its behavior violates Article 39 of the Anti Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China - "Administrative agencies and organizations authorized by laws and regulations with the function of managing public affairs shall not abuse administrative power, restrict or indirectly restrict units or individuals from operating, purchasing, or using goods provided by their designated operators.". According to Article 51 of the Anti Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China, if public schools force students to purchase designated bedding, the higher authorities shall order them to make corrections; Punish the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel in accordance with the law.
An obvious reality is that parents and students face a more complex situation in the school's "forced buying and selling" events. Some netizens have expressed that the so-called "voluntary" in schools often refers to "voluntary on the surface, but in reality, one has to purchase", "voluntary but not free".
It is precisely for this reason that some parents choose to remain silent in the face of mandatory requirements from schools. Some people are worried, "Not buying is not enough, they are worried that children will be discriminated against and excluded!" "They are afraid that teachers will wear small shoes.".
Regarding this, Lawyer Fu Lei, a member of the legal expert pool of the Legal Daily and director of the Beijing Yingke Law Firm Management Committee, believes that if the school uses the excuse of "establishing collective consciousness" and proposes "if it can guarantee to buy the same amount as the school, you can also bring it yourself", then this is actually a disguised form of forced purchase. Bedding and other daily necessities, practicality first, cannot be used as an excuse for forced purchase for other reasons. If the school's demand for purchase involves a violation of consumer rights protection laws or monopolistic behavior, then this demand may constitute illegal.
