Pupil seeks online homework service with lucky money  

小学生预支500元压岁钱网购“代写作业”

“要不是儿子要我提前预支压岁钱，我还不知道现在竟然存在这种交易。”昨日，家住步行街的孔女士说，上五年级的儿子小杰前几日要她预支500元压岁钱。她再三询问原因后得知，儿子打算在网上购买代写寒假作业的服务。这让孔女士很难接受。然而，让她更不敢相信的是，这种代写业务在网上很受追捧。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A woman in Changsha, Hunan province, has caught her fifth-grade son spending 500 yuan (about 80 US dollars) for an online service that will do his winter-holiday homework for him, according to Voc.com.cn.

The mother surnamed Kong said she was disappointed in her son, and shocked that the service was so successful.

Numerous ads for businesses that do homework for students could be found online. One shop owner said they could also guarantee that the handwriting style would match each client.

Ghostwriting three exercise books for a fifth-grade student costs about 120 yuan, she added. "But the exact charge will depend on factors such as the complexity of the assignment."

The owner also reminded her customers to buy the service in advance, saying "the fees will increase if customers buy the service at the end of the holiday."

Winter holiday for students starts around the middle of January and lasts about a month.

"We parents definitely won't allow children to buy the service," said Kong.

Another parent surnamed Hao said the service should be forbidden, and that service providers should be punished.

A middle-school teacher surnamed Gao said winter holiday homework is assigned to help students review what they have learned. "Ghostwriting is cheating, and some students lack the will for independent study."

But another teacher surnamed Xue had a different opinion: "It's a reflection of students suffering from too much holiday homework."

"Ghostwriting, of course, should be forbidden, but other measures to help students develop should also be explored," Xue added.