The Ministry of Education (MOE) on Wednesday disclosed the results of an investigation into a case in which high school students burned books in anger over questionable charges for textbooks and exam materials.
On April 5, several students from the No. 1 Senior High School of Jingshan county in central Hubei Province tore up and burned their books and exam papers to protest exorbitant fees charged by the school for textbooks and exam materials.
The provincial educational authority subsequently investigated the case, finding that the school charged third-grade students over 700 yuan (110.7 U.S. dollars) for reference books and exam papers for the spring semester, a year-on-year increase of 100 yuan.
The school was also found to have taken kickbacks for purchasing reference books and forced students to subscribe to literary journals, practices that are both forbidden.
The president of the school was suspended following the investigation and the reference book charges have ceased. Others involved in the incident will receive disciplinary punishment, the ministry said.
The ministry on Wednesday also disclosed eight other instances of irregular fee-related practices by primary and secondary schools, including one case in which students were ordered to buy reference materials from a designated bookstore.
Arbitrary fees charged by schools, universities and local governments have become a major obstacle preventing students from middle- and low-income families from attending school in China.
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