Admission fraud Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Picture this: your teenage child only gets a score like 300 out of 750 points in the national college entrance examination, or gaokao. You are then told that your child can enter a prestigious university if you spend 1 million yuan ($156,490). Will you believe in it? Such admission scams have been reported almost every year. Yet many parents are still being tricked. The Beijing News reported that a company claiming it had connections with various universities could provide services for admission. But after receiving over 15 million yuan from dozens of parents, the company said that due to the strict management this year, they cannot fulfill their promise. Guess what? They have not refunded the payment to parents yet. Admission fraud is annoying and abominable. But the deceived parents do not deserve sympathy. It is understandable that every parent hopes their children to have a bright future, but only by legitimate means. These parents can to some extent be seen as "accomplices" in an attempt to help their children admitted to university with a good reputation. This is also a fraud that undermines the fairness of education. There is no such a thing as free lunch. If they want their children to be admitted into a prestigious university, they should encourage their kids to work hard - not take shortcuts.