Tuition collected before the semester even starts

Around December 20 last year, a teacher posted in the class group saying that payment for the next semester’s tuition had officially begun, and parents should find time to go to the school finance office to pay.

When my wife mentioned it, the first thing that came to mind was earlier news saying the education authorities had already made it clear that tuition and childcare fees should not be collected in advance across academic years or semesters. Because of that, I didn’t treat it as especially urgent at first.

But the teacher kept reminding parents who had not paid yet to do so as soon as possible, and even said things along the lines of how it could affect next year’s placement and that a spot could not be guaranteed. That sounded at least a little like pressure, if not outright intimidation. Even so, it seemed like not many families in the class had actually paid at that point.

Maybe I was just being overly cautious, but in the end I still got nervous about it.

On the last day of the three-day New Year holiday, I had my wife go to the school finance office and pay the fee. Official documents from the education bureau may exist, but whether they are really enforced in practice is another question.

After she sent the receipt to the teacher, our daughter came home the next day with a 2021 wall calendar. Funny enough, the families who hadn’t paid didn’t get one.

It makes me wonder whether this kind of advance collection of childcare and tuition fees across the year is mainly a private school issue. I’d really be curious to hear whether parents with children in public schools have run into the same thing.

Recent concerns about the pandemic

Lately I’ve been seeing more news about COVID-19 cases in Hebei, and it makes me wonder whether things are starting to rebound again.

At this rate, it’s hard to say whether people will end up staying home for the Lunar New Year again instead of visiting friends and relatives.

The latest notice on my side is that commercial performances in enclosed venues such as bars have been suspended.