In early August, Dajiang International School in Guigang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, held a graduation ceremony for its class of 2025. At the ceremony, many students who were admitted to top universities received cash awards.

Among them, the most notable was a female student surnamed Luo, who is about to enter Tsinghua University, receiving a prize of 1 million yuan, along with a red ribbon printed with the words “Tsinghua” and “1,000,000”. On stage, stacks of cash were stacked up, leaving many in attendance stunned. A parent shared on local television: “I was really overwhelmed. This girl is only that young and already has 1 million yuan!”

In addition, students admitted to Zhejiang University and Hong Kong University were awarded 150,000 yuan (nearly 550 million VND), while a student admitted to Huazhong Agricultural University received 10,000 yuan (more than 36 million VND).

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The incident of a school giving a pile of money to a candidate who passed the entrance exam to a prestigious university has attracted the attention of the online community. Photo: Jiupainews

However, this practice was immediately corrected by the Guigang City Department of Education . A representative of the Department said: “The State does not encourage schools to publicly display their university entrance exam results. We have requested Dai Giang School to stop this practice.”

According to school staff, the bonus is adjusted annually depending on the ranking of the university the student is admitted to. In 2022, students who get into Tsinghua or Beijing will only receive 500,000 yuan, half of this year's amount. For those admitted to mid-level universities, the bonus is only about 3,000 yuan.

In China, Peking University and Tsinghua University are considered the “pinnacle” of the higher education system. The number of students admitted to these two universities is often used to evaluate the quality of teaching in public schools. Many places also have a “hot bonus policy” for homeroom teachers: If a student gets into Tsinghua or Peking, teachers can be rewarded with up to 100,000 yuan and receive a title for promotion.

However, this pursuit of achievement also creates many consequences. Last July, a school in Jiangxi caused a stir when a teacher publicly scolded three students who had high enough scores but did not apply to Beijing or Tsinghua, but instead chose other schools with majors more suitable to their career orientation.

Commenting on the incident, education scholar Hung Binh Ky (Shanghai) said that the huge reward of Dai Giang School is actually just a promotional trick to attract good students. He emphasized: "Schools should not use money to instill in students the idea that studying is synonymous with economic benefits. Education must aim at the long-term development of each individual and help them build their own plans for the future."

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/truong-tu-gay-tranh-cai-vi-thuong-3-5-ty-dong-cho-hoc-sinh-do-dai-hoc-danh-gia-2433736.html