The wind of university title affiliated schools should be stopped

On the evening of January 17, Liu Chuansheng, the "big tiger" of the education system and former secretary of the party committee of Beijing Normal University, appeared in the third episode of the TV special "Zero Tolerance" "Punishing the Former and The Aftermath". According to reports, in 2011, Liu Chuansheng's son returned from studying abroad and wanted to start a business in the field of preschool education, but he had neither funds, venues, nor experience and foundation. Liu Chuansheng took advantage of his power to let his son use the North Normal University signboard to open up business outside in violation of the law.

Running through this mode of running a school is the chain of interests that use the university signboard to make money - universities charge fees from the output brand (title), but most of them do not participate in the management of affiliated (experimental) schools to promote education and teaching reform. Overall, this brand output is more about doing business than developing education. It not only damages the reputation of the university, but also leads to the chaos of basic education, including false publicity during enrollment, speculation in school districts, stimulating parents' anxiety about school choice, and affecting the balanced development of compulsory education.

The participation of universities in basic education schools should be actively encouraged, but both the starting point and the specific operation must be for the sake of education, not as a business. To this end, it is necessary to strictly prohibit public schools, including universities, from participating in basic schools only in the form of brand output. Universities participating in public schools, kindergartens, and non-profit private schools in basic education shall not receive income from running schools by collecting management fees. Only then can education return to the public welfare attribute, so that cooperative schools can return to the original intention of education.

Source: Guangming Daily