"Private" is not a shield, China Youth Daily: More than 30 school uniforms charge over 4000 yuan for tuition | Family | School uniforms

Do you still remember how much it cost to buy school uniforms when you were in high school? Recently, the price of school uniforms at Guangzheng Experimental School in Dongguan, Guangdong Province has surprised many netizens and parents of students. According to the informant, the school charged more than 4000 yuan for the uniforms of the freshmen, which caused many doubts and roast. In the face of media interviews, the teachers of the school involved stated that there are over 30 school uniforms in total, with a wide variety and high configuration. The fees have been approved by the Education Bureau and the Price Bureau, and "cherish a little to wear for three years.".

From the response of the picture, it appears that the school involved may not think there are any issues with the school uniform fee standards. The statement that "fees are approved by the Education Bureau and the Price Bureau" further gives the school a sense of confidence. However, although this charging method is not illegal, it inevitably raises doubts among parents who pay - is it necessary for school uniforms to be so expensive? Does it have to be so expensive? If these questions cannot be answered, external doubts cannot be stopped, which will also affect the communication between the school and parents in the future.

According to the information, the school in question is a fully boarding school with a "private public assistance" nature in Dongguan City. In public perception, the tuition and miscellaneous fees in private schools are more expensive than those in public schools, which is a normal phenomenon. Candidates can choose whether to enroll or not based on their family's economic conditions. However, in addition to tuition and miscellaneous fees, the mandatory collection of school uniform fees is also so high, which inevitably gives people a negative impression of disguised "money grabbing".

Of particular note, the high school freshmen admitted by this school are divided into two types: "public funded students" and "self funded students". Among them, "self funded students" have to pay a tuition fee of 32000 yuan per semester, but the admission score for the middle school entrance examination is lower. In contrast, the admission score for "public funded students" in the middle school entrance examination is much higher than that of "self funded students", but they only need to pay 2150 yuan per semester, which is less than one tenth of that of "self funded students".

For "public funded students", the schools involved are not "aristocratic schools" that require a lot of money to enter, and their family conditions may not be very good. On the other hand, the schools involved are also willing to recruit these students at a price close to that of public schools because they value their academic performance. For the families of these students, seeing school uniform fees higher than tuition fees on the bill is likely to create a negative feeling of being trapped. It is not difficult to understand why they were surprised and dissatisfied. In this regard, it is not advisable for others to hastily assume that since the school in question is a private school, no matter how high the school uniform fee is, it is "one willing to fight and one willing to suffer".

Without hesitation, private schools are not only a part of the education industry, but also a profitable business. However, a gentleman loves wealth and takes it in a proper way. The profits of private schools can only come from tuition fees and compliant value-added service projects, and cannot be made in the field of service-oriented fees and agency fees such as school uniforms and canteens.

Taking Guangdong Province, where the school in question is located, as an example, the Development and Reform Commission, Department of Education, and Department of Finance of Guangdong Province issued a notice in 2018 on further improving the charging policy for primary and secondary education in our province. It clearly stipulates that service fees and agency fees for primary and secondary schools should adhere to the principles of non-profit and student willingness, and include school uniform fees, specifically stipulating that "schools shall not force students to purchase specific quantities of school uniforms.". Taking this as a standard for examination, the school involved packaged more than 30 school uniforms together and demanded a uniform fee of over 4000 yuan from students, which may not be compliant.

Not to mention whether the school involved had a profit-making mindset when collecting this fee. Whether these more than 30 school uniforms are all needed by students needs to be marked with a question mark first. Generally speaking, the school uniforms that students must wear during their school years are nothing more than a set of summer uniforms, a set of spring and autumn uniforms, and a backup for changing clothes. As for winter warm clothing and uniforms for formal occasions, students can freely choose whether to purchase them from school or bring them themselves based on their actual situation. This "bundled fee" model, whether in private or public schools, is problematic and should be stopped and corrected.

After the incident, the Education Bureau of Dongguan City stated that it attached great importance to the situation reported by the public that more than 4000 yuan of school uniform fees were required for enrollment, and immediately formed a special working group to conduct an investigation at the school. Preliminary investigations have found that the schools involved have not strictly followed the relevant regulations on the management of school uniforms for primary and secondary school students at the national, provincial, and municipal levels in the procurement process of school uniforms and the implementation of voluntary student purchases. In this regard, the Municipal Education Bureau has instructed schools to immediately rectify, improve and perfect the procedures for purchasing school uniforms, strictly implement the regulations for students to voluntarily purchase school uniforms, and consciously accept social supervision. This result indicates that netizens' questioning is not nitpicking, but a legitimate act of supervision. I hope that in the future, there will be fewer and fewer instances of unreasonable fees in the field of education.