Education authorities are cracking down on Chinese teachers who profit and receive gifts for giving after-school lessons, according to a report by Shanghai Daily.
Parents giving teachers gifts in exchange for attention for their children is an open secret in Chinese society. While some parents like to take advantage of this, others hate the practice and think teachers are greedy for accepting the gifts.
The 31 provincial-level regions of China have created a set of rules regarding the conduct of teachers. More than 95 percent of schools responded to a survey, stating that they value morality in their staff evaluation, according to a Monday report by the Ministry of Education.
Teachers are not allowed to demand gifts or money from the parents of pupils, receiving money for additional lessons, forcing pupils to purchase extra learning materials or introducing them to outside education institutions.
Teachers in elementary and middle schools have been holding extra lessons unpaid for a long time, especially to prepare students for college entrance exams. It remains unclear if teachers started the problem of bribery by soliciting them or if parents started it by offering them.
"Many parents urge us to hold extra lessons for their children, but I also want to make some money myself," said one anonymous Beijing teacher.
In some rural areas where supervision is not commonplace, parents often pay elementary school teachers so their children may sit in front of the class.
A poll released by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences in September revealed that 7 percent of 3,000 parents surveyed and 10 percent of 15,000 pupils surveyed held negative views regarding the morality of teachers.
Regulating teachers has to be balanced with protecting their interests, according to Jin Zhongming, a professor at East China Normal University.
"On one hand, a scientific system should be set up to certificate and dismiss teachers. On the other, we should take more steps to make them feel happier and respected, so they voluntarily follow rules and teach better," Jin said.