Chinese school under fire after piling Rs 1.21 crore cash on stage as reward for top university admit

The most eye-catching moment came when a student surnamed Luo, who will begin her studies at Tsinghua in September, was handed a red banner emblazoned with “Tsinghua University” and “one million yuan.” On stage, piles of cash were stacked in a mound. “It was like a small hill,” a local resident told Anhui TV. “I was stunned. I envy this girl—she’s so young and already owns a million yuan.”

Other students were also rewarded: one admitted to Zhejiang University and another to Hong Kong University each received 150,000 yuan (Rs 18.18 lakh), while a graduate heading to Huazhong Agricultural University in Hubei province was granted 10,000 yuan (Rs 1.21 lakh). Viral videos of the ceremony fueled heated debate online.

A school employee told local media that the cash awards vary depending on the university’s rank and are adjusted annually. In 2022, Dajiang awarded half a million yuan to students entering either Peking University or Tsinghua. Average-level university admits typically receive around 3,000 yuan (Rs 36,000).

But the policy soon drew official scrutiny. On August 12, the Guigang Municipal Education Bureau confirmed to Jiupai News that it had ordered the school to halt the practice. “The state discourages schools from publicizing gaokao scores in this way,” said an unnamed official.

The incident highlights how highly Chinese schools value admissions into Tsinghua and Peking University—ranked 17th and 14th respectively in the 2026 QS World University Rankings—and use them as benchmarks of academic success. In some schools, teachers themselves receive cash bonuses if their students are admitted to these elite institutions.

In July, a separate high school in Jiangxi province stirred controversy after a teacher scolded three students online for not applying to Tsinghua or Peking despite qualifying scores. The students chose lower-ranked universities offering majors with better career prospects instead.

Education experts argue that schools’ fixation on elite university admissions—and the financial incentives tied to them—distorts priorities. Xiong Bingqi, a Shanghai-based scholar, wrote in the Beijing News that Dajiang’s award scheme was nothing more than “a marketing initiative to promote itself and attract more elite students.”

“Schools should not use high awards to instil the utilitarian perception that studying leads directly to financial returns,” Xiong warned, SCMP reported. “They should care about the long-term development of each individual student and guide them to shape their own life plans.”

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