Most parents with children in primary and middle schools have secretly questioned at least once or twice why they should pay money for some references, extracurricular textbooks or other materials that apparently are of little use in their children's studies.

They seldom make the queries, however. It was what the teacher asked, my daughter often said when she was in school. And it has been parents' duty to follow the teacher's advice. A lot of parents must have wondered whether there is profit, or kickbacks to be made. But most would take it for granted, believing that it was for the benefits of the teachers, the schools as well as for the good of their children.

For instance, the classroom building where my daughter attended classes in the junior middle school was pronounced unsafe the second year she was there. The school was able to raise enough money to reinforce the building. When the building reopened, my daughter and her classmates were happy to see their classroom refurbished with a television set, an overhead projector and other state-of-the-art equipment.

Who were we to question where the money came from? No one would like their children attending classes under teachers who are disgruntled about their pay, or the lack of teaching tools. However, it goes without saying that there are school administrators or teachers, who go out of their way to pursue large amount of kickbacks by promoting textbooks, teaching facilities, school uniforms and other related items in line of their work. And on Monday, China's Supreme Court and top prosecuting institution jointly issued a legal document to announce that making use of the teachers' profession to help promote related businesses and take large chunks of money from these businesses is now a crime, subject to graft charges. This is really encouraging news, as it should serve as a deterrent to graft that runs rampant in many sectors of the society.

But while the new legal interpretation has broadened its coverage, the most effective way to stop graft in the education sector is to create mechanisms that allow transparency in public school administration and set up effective supervision from the public and independently-run non-government or non-affiliated organizations. These are essential to ensure that free education is available to all and enough funding is provided for schools and their teachers, especially those in rural areas. Without better supervision and transparency systems, some people in the trade - including officials - are bound to try one way or another for personal gains.

I remember a television investigative report once gave viewers a glimpse into a relatively underdeveloped region in northern Guangdong province. Although the report was aired a few years ago, I could still remember scenes of rundown village schools in contrast to a huge building said to house the local bureau of education. While each of its staff shared 50 sq m office space, children in one rural school crowded into a classroom with a broken roof.

It was reported that its construction cost some 6 million yuan ($146,501), which was largely collected from the poor students as fees for reference or extracurricular materials, tests papers and extra school charges. Also according to media reports, its leadership and bureau staff also pocketed a lot of money as it charged almost 50 percent in kickbacks for selling all the references, textbooks and test materials it had compiled and printed. The news was shocking as these officials were robbing the poverty-stricken students in the name of schools and education. Now the channels to cashing in on the parents are more or less illegal, I'm really worried that some remote rural schools and children will continue to suffer from lack of funding and good teachers.

(China Daily November 27, 2008)