"Basically, I signed a contract with the school in advance, so I can't talk about it."
"It's so hard for kids, there's no time to play"
"I've spent hundreds of thousands of yuan on learning so far"
……
At present, it is the enrollment stage of the primary school, and the original policy of the elementary school is free of exams, but there are still many parents who are anxious about choosing a school for their children. A few days ago, the reporter's investigation found that the enrollment briefings held by some institutions for the purpose of cooperating with individual schools to "pinch the tip" are being carried out secretly.
The reporter secretly visited the scene of "pinching the top enrollment".
There is a lot of chaos and hidden means
The so-called "pinching" is "point recruitment", which refers to the fact that individual schools lock and recruit top students before the allocation of places through various illegal means, so as to widen the gap between the quality of students and ordinary schools.
• Method 1: Selection Examination
The so-called "Primary 5 class" refers to the selection of students in the fifth grade of primary school in middle school, and the selected students will directly enter junior high school in the sixth grade.
The day before the May Day holiday, a staff member of an educational institution posted information that a private school was about to hold an open day, saying that activities for fifth and sixth grade students would be held on the last day of the holiday. The reporter tried to sign up, and a few days later received a call from the school.
According to the appointed time, the reporter came to the school. As soon as they entered the school building, parents and children were separated. The children are taken into the classroom on the first floor and take part in the selection exams organized by the school.
After the exams begin, parents gather to exchange ideas about their children's learning. During the chat, the reporter learned that this school has previously conducted many joint examinations with a key public middle school in other districts for the whole city, and this exam may be the last round of this year's enrollment season.
• Method 2: Participate in the Cup
In addition to participating in the selection exam, another channel that can be "recruited" is to participate in various cup competitions.
In November 2022, the Ministry of Education announced the "List of National Competitions for Primary and Secondary School Students in the 2022-2025 School Year", commonly known as the "white list", which clearly stipulates that those who are not on the "white list" are illegal competitions.
In January this year, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security and other departments jointly issued a document, once again making it clear that the Masters, Hope Cup, and Hua Cup are all illegal black competitions, and they will resolutely crack down on illegal black competitions. However, there are policies and countermeasures, and these illegal competitions and black competitions in these disciplines are then carried out in the name of summer camps, winter camps or research studies.
The reporter's investigation found that due to the frequent reports of black competitions in recent years, which led to the temporary cancellation of the exam, if you want to register, you can only go through the institution, and even go to other places to participate in the competition. These illegal and expensive registration Olympiad competitions are sought after by parents, and the results of the competitions have also become an important basis for individual schools to "point out the top".
In addition to the Olympiad, the school's second focus is on English. In March 2021, the Ministry of Education Examination Center announced that it would withdraw from hosting the Cambridge English Level 5 exam, which made its popularity decline for a while, but since last year, the Cambridge English test has become hot again, and many primary school students have passed the Level 3 FCE exam equivalent to the domestic high school to university level.
In recent years, the Ministry of Education has repeatedly emphasized that the results of primary and secondary school subject competitions and examination certificates shall not be used as a reference or basis for admissions, but in fact, this situation has not been completely reversed.
• Method 3: Screening resumes
In mid-May, the reporter learned again through a training institution that a middle school was about to hold an open day on campus. Although the school repeatedly emphasized that the open day was only for junior high school graduates, when the reporter entered the campus, he found that the school had opened a designated channel for parents of primary school students.
Following the road sign, the reporter walked to the primary school consultation office and saw that many parents were submitting their children's resumes to the staff, with their children's competition results and examination results attached to the resumes.
Before the "double reduction", most of this kind of resume was placed directly at the school gate or in the security room. After the "double reduction", the control is strict, and parents either hand over their resumes to teachers or send emails to the school during the campus open day, and providing school email information has also become a new way for individual institutions to make money.
Expert: Only scores and further education cause chaos in admissions
The Ministry of Education is setting up a working group for the Sunshine Enrollment Special Action
Some experts believe that at present, many local education administrative departments still focus on the assessment and evaluation of schools only in terms of scores and promotions, which is one of the important reasons for the repeated prohibition of enrollment chaos.
The reporter learned that some children who were successfully "recruited" had to continue to "roll" and strive to enter the fast class in order to enter a better class.
The reporter was informed that the Ministry of Education is currently setting up a special action working group for sunshine enrollment, and will participate in the cross-provincial cross-inspection work nationwide, and promptly report on violations and investigations such as "black-box operation" and "pinching enrollment".
The General Office of the Ministry of Education recently issued a notice on the launch of the "Year of Standardized Management" of basic education, strictly prohibiting schools in the compulsory education stage from organizing all kinds of examinations for the purpose of selecting students, or using all kinds of competition certificates, social training results, examination certificates, etc. as the basis for enrollment. It is hoped that through rectification, the enrollment of compulsory education schools can be made more fair, sunny and convenient.