Chinese schools force students to buy their desks and chairs

Secondary schools in the city of Wuchuan, in the province of Canton (southern China), force their students to buy the tables and chairs needed to teach.

The deputy secretary of the Board of Education of Wuchuan, identified as Lin, confirmed that this type of "self-financing" is a common phenomenon of recent years in some schools.

"With the rising standard of living, a table and a chair for 100 yuan ($ 16) should not be a problem and so far we have not received complaints from parents," he said.

Students who attend Wuchuan Chuanxi Intermediate School can purchase 110 yuan (17 dollars) desks and stools of metal or second-hand wood in a located furniture store, strategically, next to their educational center, since those of the own school are broken.

However, in a country where close to 150 million people live on less than a dollar and 25 cents a day, this expense could mean the salary of two days of work, according to the newspaper.

For his part, the director of the Huangpo Central Primary School said his center has more than 600,000 yuan ($ 96,245) of debt and can only cover his daily expenses.

In addition, alleging that parents often complain about the poor state of classroom furniture, "it is better that they themselves buy what they think is necessary".

Several parents stated that the provision of adequately furnished classrooms is the responsibility of the school, while others decided to comply with the provision of the centers to avoid "offending schools," the source explained.

In December 2011 it was reported that children from the village of Duan, in the autonomous region of Guangxi, in southern China, were forced to sit down to study over a coffin because of the precariousness of the school.