Freeing the Slaves to Exams

Recently a 400 square meter home in western Beijing went on sale for a cool 130 million yuan. That's an astronomical sum, even for a piece of property advertized as being near a good school that guarantees entrance for the buyers' children.

As news spread of the over-the-top price tag for this "school district house," the Chinese public could not help lamenting the difficulties in giving their own children a quality education. Despite repeated prohibitions, schools continue to charge "school-choosing fees," which exacerbate inequalities in the compulsory education delivered by schools.