Wang Yuanyuan

    The first all-girls’ school in Guangdong Province will open its first semester in September, which has raised concerns over the specialized education system.

    The Zhuhai Girls’ School in Zhuhai is a private boarding school only for girls, aiming at offering proper education suitable for girls’ growth, said Wang Jiaye, principal of the school.

    Tuition fees for the junior department are about 26,600 yuan a semester, while it is about 28,000 to 34,000 yuan a semester for the senior high department and 61,000 yuan for studying at the international class at the school, Wang said.

    “All the girls have to take the entrance examinations and psychological evaluation organized by us. Those who fail cannot get in and will get their tuition fees back,” Wang said last week.

    Despite high tuition fees, 56 students applied for the school a few day after it started taking applications. Moreover, seats at their introductory meeting, to be held on March 26, have already been booked by parents.

    Among these students, more than 70 percent were from the Pearl River Delta such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan, while the rest were from provinces such as Heilongjiang, Hubei and Hunan provinces, Wang said.

    “Most of these students are from very rich families. The money is no issue compared to the educational quality,” Wang said.

    Some parents chose the school due to the special education for girls. “I hope they can open some courses for girls, such as home economics, self defense, figure training and etiquette, which can make them into upstanding and elegant women,” a mother Wu Shuling said. Wu just applied to the school for her 14-year-old girl.

    Some parents hoped the all-girls’ school could prevent their children from dating at a young age. “In regular schools, there are too many love affairs going on between boys and girls, which is not good for them at such a young age, so I decided to send her here and create a better environment for her,” another mother Luo Zhong said.

    However, many students in Shenzhen said they preferred regular schools as it would be healthier if boys and girls stay together.

    “It will not be a good thing to keep teenage girls away from boys just to avoid them being in a relationship,” Wu Hongjie, a Senior 2 girl at Shenzhen Middle School, said.

    “Although school love happens a lot, only a small percentage of students will be involved in those things. Studying with boys can also provide an opportunity for girls to learn from them. And we can also learn more about the opposite sex and real society. After all, society is made up of men and women,” Wu said.

    Principal Wang said she had also had criticism from the public. But she said people should keep an open mind to the all-girls’ school.

    “People should not be afraid of a girls’ school as it is a school, not a prison,” she said.