Today (February 20), a news spread on the Internet that a seventh grade teacher from Yongnian Yuying School in Hebei Province informed parents of their students in WeChat group that they would pay 3000 yuan to buy tablets at the beginning of school.
According to the relevant WeChat chat records posted online, when parents questioned whether the tablet was worth 3000, the teacher said, "Just like every mobile phone of different brands has its own unique system; if every system is the same, why should it be better than that of which brand?"
This afternoon, in response to the online news, Li Jinxi, the headmaster of the school, said when replying to the Red Star News reporter that the school intended to popularize tablet teaching from the first grade (seventh grade) of junior high school, so students need to buy tablets, but it is not mandatory. "Parents with good family conditions can choose to buy tablets for their children, and families with poor conditions can also not buy tablets."
Li Jinxi said that the reason for popularizing tablet teaching is to facilitate teachers' teaching and students' learning. For example, assigning homework on the tablet and remote classes can improve efficiency. "If students choose not to buy, it may have some small impact on learning, but the impact is small. We still have traditional teaching methods", said Li Jinxi. Tablet teaching is only used as an auxiliary means of teaching.
With regard to the statement that a teacher of the school directly informed parents on WeChat group that "please bring 3000 yuan of tablet fee cash when you return to school", Li Jinxi said: "This teacher should have misunderstood the meaning of the school. We do not force the purchase. Now we are asking the grade director to notify all class directors and re issue the relevant notice."
According to the official website of Yuying School, Yuying School is a fully closed, boarding private school integrating kindergarten, primary school and junior high school. At about 6:00 this afternoon, Red Star News reporters called Yongnian District Education Bureau to try to understand the supervision of the competent department on the school's charges. As of press release, the phone was not connected, and Red Star News reporters will continue to pay attention to this matter.
Red Star Journalist Wang Jianqiang