Parents protest against new rules barring non-Beijing children from primary schools

New school entrance rules set by a district-level education authority in the capital are being called discriminatory against those who do not hold Beijing household registration certificates, or hukou.

Parents of children affected by the rule say it is biased against low-income families from outside Beijing and may prevent their children from starting school.

Hundreds of parents have been protesting to the Tongzhou district government for setting the rule, saying it deprived their children of an equal education.

Parents erected banners and shouted slogans saying education was an "equal right".

"We understand Beijing needs to control the population," said Chen Na, 33, a protesting parent.

"But you can't link the parents' social insurance payment to a child's education.

"Children are entitled by law to receive primary and middle school education either in the place of their household registration or where their guardian lives and works."