Elite Chinese school forced to overturn changes to admission policy after backlash from parents
- Luoling Foreign Language Experimental School says its roster is full and brought in property rule to ensure children from local families were assured of a place
An elite school in Shenzhen has reversed its admissions policy, which restricted entry by children who live in flats of less than 50 square metres (538 sq ft), after backlash from parents.
Luoling Foreign Language Experimental School published an official notice on Tuesday banning applications from students who have lived in a flat smaller than 30 square metres for fewer than six years, according to Shenzhen News.
Applicants for the 2019 school year whose home is between 30 and 50 square metres in size must have lived there for at least four years, while students whose homes are bigger than 50 square metres must have lived there for at least a year.
“The number of student admissions from the school catchment area has continued to increase in recent years and the number of places has reached its maximum limit,” Luoling said.
The school, in Shenzhen’s Luohu district, said that the policy was “to give priority to children whose families have genuinely bought property in the area to live there, and protect their right to attend school.”