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Alice Yan

A privately run secondary school in China has landed in trouble after it offered a controversial one million yuan (US$140,000) cash reward to a graduate who has been admitted to the prestigious Tsinghua University.
In early August, Dajiang International School in Guigang, a small city in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in southwestern China, held a graduation ceremony for its Class of 2025 students.
The cash awards prompted the Guigang Municipal Education Bureau to intervene and stop the school’s “irregular practice”.
“The state authorities discourage schools from doing publicity on their ‘gaokao’ scores. We have already stopped the Dajiang school’s practice,” an official from the bureau, whose name was not revealed, told Jiupai News on August 12.
At the ceremony, a number of graduates who were recently admitted to top universities received cash prizes from their alma mater.
Among them was a girl, surnamed Luo, who is set to become a first-year at Tsinghua University in September.

The Dajiang school awarded her one million yuan by presenting her with a red banner bearing the Chinese characters for “Tsinghua University” and “one million yuan”.
The ceremony also displayed piles of banknotes.
“The school put the money on a stool on the stage. It is stacked like a small hill. I am stunned by the scene,” a local witness told Anhui TV.
“I envy this girl. She is so young, but already owns one million yuan!” added the woman resident.
Other top students receiving awards included one who was admitted to Zhejiang University and received 150,000 yuan (US$21,000), and another who was admitted to Hong Kong University who got the same.
Another graduate who is set to enrol at Huazhong Agricultural University in central Hubei province was granted 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), according to viral videos of the event.

A worker from the Dajiang school told the media that they awarded graduates based on the relevant ranks of the universities they will attend. The award policy is adjusted every year, she said.
In 2022, the value of prizes for students who made it into Peking University or Tsinghua University was half a million yuan (US$70,000).
Graduates admitted by average-level universities normally get around 3,000 yuan (US$420), the report said.
Universities in China enrol students according to the scores they attain in the national university entrance examination, known as “gaokao”, which takes place in early June each year.
Peking and Tsinghua universities ranked 14th and 17th in the QS World University Rankings 2026. They are equally regarded as the highest-ranking schools in China among the mainland public.
Schools across China value the number of graduates being admitted by these two institutions as it acts as a benchmark to measure the schools’ ability to produce high-scoring students.
Anecdotes suggest that in many secondary schools in eastern China, if a student is admitted by Peking or Tsinghua universities, their form teacher will get a bonus of 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) as well as honours that help with promotion.

A high school in Jiangxi province, eastern China, attracted attention in July after a teacher scolded three students online because they achieved high enough scores but did not apply for Peking or Tsinghua University.
Instead, the students chose lower-ranked universities that offered them majors with better job prospects.
Xiong Bingqi, a Shanghai-based education scholar, wrote in the Beijing News that the award scheme of the Dajiang school in Guangxi is just a marketing initiative to promote itself and enrol more elite students.
“Schools should not use high awards to instil the utilitarian perception in students that studying could lead to financial returns.”
“Schools should care for the long-term development of each individual student and guide them to make their own study and life plan,” said Xiong.


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People & Culture

Controversial money presentations to top students spark concerns that youngsters’ education is being driven by financial rewards


Controversial money presentations to top students spark concerns that youngsters’ education is being driven by financial rewards.


China education

Zhejiang University

Tsinghua University

Xiong Bingqi

China school in hot water over US$140,000 cash prize for student accepted by top university

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Controversial money presentations to top students spark concerns that youngsters’ education is being driven by financial rewards

Controversial money presentations to top students spark concerns that youngsters’ education is being driven by financial rewards