REGIONS across the country have required schools to return unused accommodation fees to students as this year’s new term has been delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Schools that have charged students a whole school year’s fees for boarding at school should refund the part that wasn’t used during the second semester, according to a notice by the Education Department of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

A school year in China normally starts in September and is composed of two semester — the first from autumn to winter and the second from spring to summer, with five months for each.

Hebei Province in North China has issued a similar notice to local schools. It said schools should collect students’ accommodation fees according to their actual length of residence during the period of COVID-19.

Other provinces, including Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shaanxi, have publicized similar refund policies. Some places are resuming classes in batches.

The Education Department of Sichuan said related fees should be refunded by the end of the spring semester. The province has also required schools to set up a hotline to address refunds.

The Ministry of Education issued a warning last month concerning school fees, on account of some schools and kindergartens starting to collect tuition fees or charges for preschool education when the new semester was still being delayed.

Schools are not allowed to collect the fees before students go back to school and resume the semester, the warning said.

The ministry also said schools should provide financial aid to students with financial difficulties, including those infected by the novel coronavirus and ones whose family has been affected by COVID-19. (China Daily)