Students at Zhabei District Experimental Primary School will set up and run their own bookstore later this month as part of a program to learn consumer and management skills.

Ten top students in grades three, four and five will run the campus bookstore, making decisions about what publications to stock, keeping track of inventory, and tracking revenues and expenses.

The little bosses will purchase books cheaply from online stores and try to sell them to their classmates below normal market prices, while trying to make a small profit.

The employees will also keep a record of sales and prepare regular balance sheets, which will be audited by their teachers.

Any profits earned by the store will be put into a special fund to reward top students with coupons for free books at the shop.

"We believe the store's operation process will be a vivid way to teach students basic economics, no matter if they are employees or customers," said Xu Feifei, a teacher in charge of the program.

Over the last winter vacation, students were offered courses on how to buy cheap books online, which has set the foundation for the bookstore, teachers said.

"Since students will find that they are able to buy two or three books for the same cost as a single copy sold at large book malls, that will teach them to be smart consumers," Xu said.

She said running the store will be a big challenge as well as great opportunity for the 10 bosses.
Students will also be allowed to bring in used books from home to exchange for credit at the store.

(Shanghai Daily March 17, 2005)