Soviet-era standards hamper students, says expert
The president of the semi-official Chinese Society of Education, Gu Mingyuan, called on the government to stop a Soviet-era system that grades school students on their studies, morality and physical condition. The so-called 'Outstanding Pupil in Three Areas' is a decades-old system designed to encourage students to do well in school. But Professor Gu, a prominent education expert, said the system was too rigid and had affected the psychological development of many children. He said the system should be reformed to give students more room to develop instead of holding them to a rigid value system. Choi Chi-yuk
Party official sacked two days after fatal bus plunge
A top official has been sacked two days after an accident in which 51 people died when a bus plunged more than 100 metres into a ravine in Sichuan . A special meeting aimed at looking into the cause of the accident and dealing with issues arising from it was held in Bazhong yesterday, the China News Service reported. The Bazhong Municipal Communist Party Committee had sacked Xian Guangzong - party secretary of the Bazhong Transport Corporation - at the meeting, the report said. The sacking took immediate effect. The Bazhong secretary of the party committee, Li Zhongbin , and Mayor Pu Bo delivered their deep regrets to victims' relatives. The bus from Bazhong was bound for Zhejiang province when it veered off a road and plunged into a ravine.
Woman held over 150m yuan investment scam
Xiamen police arrested a woman accused of swindling 150 million yuan (HK$171.4 million) from more than 80 people in an illegal fund-raising case, the Southeast Express, based in Fuzhou , said. The Xiamen Municipal Public Security Bureau investigated the case after receiving complaints. The report said the woman had promised large returns on investments and then fled with the money once the investors handed it over. Police have recovered most of the funds, but they said they were not yet able to account for 50 million yuan that is still missing. Choi Chi-yuk
