A primary school in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, has come under fire for reportedly charging students a minimum of 200 yuan (US$27.44) per semester for allowing them to take a nap during the afternoon lunch break.
A screenshot, widely circulated online on Monday, shows a WeChat account of "Teacher Lin" posting a message in a WeChat group listing the prices for different types of afternoon nap services.
According to the screenshot, sleeping at the desk and sleeping on a mat entailed charges of 200 yuan and 360 yuan per semester, respectively, while students need to pay 680 yuan a semester to own a bed in a special nap room. But this is all voluntary, it says.
The case topped the online trending topic charts, with the relevant hashtag amassing 1.7 million views on the Twitter-like platform Weibo.
Many netizens blamed the school for the unreasonable charges. "Do our children need a teacher to watch over their nap? Are you comfortable being stared at while sleeping? Why charge money? Is the school so poor that it has gone insane?" some of the posts read.
A working group has been sent to the school to conduct an on-site investigation of the case, according to the Dongguan Education Bureau.
