Headmaster suspended over illegal middle school fundraising

The headmaster of a middle school in Sichuan Province has been suspended following an illegal fundraising event at the school, reports thepaper.cn.

Members of the parents committee of No. 2 Middle School of Tianquan County collect money from parents during a parents' meeting at the school in Tianquan County, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, on November 12, 2017. [Photo: thepaper.cn]

The fundraising was conducted by the parents committee of No. 2 Middle School of Tianquan County in Ya'an City during a parents' meeting on November 12. Each parent was asked to donate 1,000 to 1,200 yuan (around 150-180 US dollars). According to thepaper.cn, it was the second time that parents were asked to donate like this.

Du Deyan, a member of the parents committee, said she initiated the fundraising to reward teachers for their hard work at the boarding school.

Zhang Shuaidong, the school headmaster, said the donations would be part of the fund under the management of Ya'an City Education Foundation and would be used specifically to reward teachers and aid students of the school.

Zhang said the parents were willing to donate. "It was OK if they did not donate," he said.

Initial investigations conducted by the county education bureau showed that more than 770,000 yuan has been collected, among which about 500,000 yuan has been deposited into the account of Ya'an City Education Foundation.

None of the donations have been used, according to the bureau.

Further investigations are underway.

Liu Yilong, secretary-general of Ya'an City Education Foundation, said the foundation does have a public account to raise funds from individuals and legal entities, and they had indeed received donations for No. 2 Middle School of Tianquan County.

The financial department of the foundation is checking the source of the donations, he said.

However, the foundation did not authorize anyone or any organization to conduct fundraising, said Liu.

The school and the parents committee raised money, against the wishes of parents, in the name of the foundation while the foundation knew nothing about it, said Liu, adding that it was an infringement of the foundation and its reputation and a violation of the law.

The foundation will defend its rights through legal channels, said its director-general.