A growing number of parents in Shanghai are moving to new homes or sending their children to live with relatives or friends so they can get into top schools, a trend fueled by fierce competition for jobs and enrollment in leading universities.

Public elementary schools in Shanghai give priority to children whose permanent residence is registered in the same district or area as the campus.

Children who don't live near the school have to pay an extra one-time admission fee, which generally ranges from 10,000 yuan (US$1,235) to 50,000 yuan.

While education authorities can't say exactly how many children are changing their registered residence to get into a top school, Zhang Zhengyu, a police officer in Jing'an District, says about 20 percent of children who register a new residence do so for educational reasons.

Le xiulu, an office worker, is looking for a new apartment near the Shixi Middle School in downtown Jing'an District, so her 11-year-old daughter can get into the school.

Le's daughter was registered in northern Zhabei District when she was born in 1994, but a lack of renowned primary schools in the district led Le to move the girl to her parents' home in Huangpu District when she was ready to begin classes.

New apartment

Now that the girl is ready to enter middle school, Le wants her to move again.

"I learned that Shixi has a good reputation for experienced faculty and its high university admission rate. Those, in my opinion, are key to a child's future success," Le said. The school is also close to Le's office, so it will be easier to pick up and drop off her daughter everyday.

As le has no friends or relatives living in Jing'an, she has to buy a new apartment in the area for her daughter to get into the school.

"Buying a new apartment will be a considerable investment for my family, but I still consider it worthwhile for the sake of my daughter's future," Le said. She expects the new home to cost her at least 500,000 yuan.

Le is not alone. The neighborhood committee near Shixi Middle School and another renowned primary school said about 70 children registered their residence in the area over the past year.

The increased efforts parents are making to seek better education for their children reflects the great importance attached to children's education and great expectations for their future, especially in fierce competition of modern society, said Zhang Youde, a sociologist at Shanghai University.

Qu jun, vice director of the Shanghai Education Commission, said parents are overreacting to their blind belief in the quality of so-called key schools. He also said some real estate developers are using the proximity of good schools to sell apartments.

Education authorities

"The city is trying to establish a balanced elementary education system to ensure that education resources will be allocated equally to every school and students are entitled to indiscriminate education of equally high quality," Qu said.

Some education authorities say the trend is propelled by the city's booming real estate market, which makes it much easier for parents to move to a new home than a few years ago.

Government survey also show parents are more willing to invest heavily in their children's education than they have been in the past.

(Shanghai Daily October 8, 2005)