Uproar as school charges ‘gratitude fee’ for teachers

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‍A video showing parents handing 1,200 to 1,500 yuan (181 to 226 US dollars) in cash to a teacher as he counted it with a machine in a classroom sparked a backlash among Chinese netizens.

The video was captured in Tianquan County Second Middle School in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Many questioned what this fee was all about and whether teachers are allowed to charge parents in such a manner.

The school spokesman claimed the following day that the fee was donated voluntarily by parents for school scholarship funding.

A screen grab from the video that went viral on Weibo shows a teacher counting money with a machine.

However, the school's explanation was contradicted by parents.

“The fee is in the name of ‘gratitude fee,’” said one anonymous parent in an interview with The Paper. “The minimum amount is 1,200 yuan (181 US dollars). If you refuse to give it, your child would transfer to other school.”

As many parents want the school to give additional courses on weekends and extend the self-study time at night, the parent committee – a supervising organization run by parents of each class – asked for a donation to school to cover the increased cost of additional services.

“Why should I donate? They do not even give me any receipt,” the parent added.

A screen grab from the viral video shows parents with cash in hand.

Local education department received complaint about the matter from anonymous parents on November 13. The involved school headmaster has been suspended until further investigation.

The latest investigation report states the Tianquan County Second Middle School has received a "gratitude fee" of 771,300 yuan, and over two-thirds of the amount has been transferred into a public account of Ya’an City Education Foundation. The rest of it is still with the representatives of parent committee.

A screen grab from the video shows a copy of the investigation report by local education department.

Ya’an City Education Foundation then clarified they were not informed about the source of donation. Individual fund raising activity in the name of Ya’an City Education Foundation is strictly forbidden, it said.

Ji Dahai, a member of Chinese Society of Education, indicated this is not the first time that parent committee had charged parents in the name of extra tutoring and for the benefit of school.

Even though the committee is supposed to act as a supervising organization, parents allege it has become a corrupt organization facilitating additional benefits for teachers and school while seeking privileges for their own wards.

“It has become a tacit rule for school to charge extra fees from parents. Parents are somehow ‘blackmailed,’ as no one wants to hurt their children,” said @Xuanranliunian, on China’s Twitter equivalent, Weibo.