A WOMAN SURNAMED Jiang in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang province, has been detained because she made fake birth certificates for her children, changing their birth months from September and November to August. Gmw.cn comments:

Jiang has been detained for six days and fined 500 yuan ($73.3). The reason for her breaking the law is rather revealing: She hopes her two children can go to primary school one year earlier.

According to China's laws on education, only children who are 6 years old are allowed to register in primary schools. In other words, those born in September must go to school one year later than those born in August, even though they might be only a few days younger.

This should not have been a problem because the law is equal for everyone. However, many domestic parents worry their children might lose at the starting line if they go to school later than their companions. It is this unnecessary worry that drives people like Jiang to try all measures. Jiang has broken the law, yet many young women choose a Caesarean birth for their children so that they will be born before September.

Some propose to adjust the Sept 1 deadline to Jan 1 so that all children born in the same year could go to school. That misses the root of the problem. Even if the deadline is moved ahead to Jan 1, there will still be a deadline, and the parents of those born in January will worry, too. They will still take measures.

To end this, the key lies in fairer distribution of education resources and making the competition in society less fierce so that parents will feel less pressure. Besides, parents must change their mentality and recognize that going to school earlier might not necessarily be good for their children. That might take a long time but it must be done.