The practice has encouraged corruption on college campuses as details of such deals are usually kept confidential, because college presidents have been given full power to decide whom to charge and how much. The differentiated pricing for clients of various political and economic standings has also spawned an army of brokers who profit by price mark-ups.

More significantly, the practice has shaken parents' confidence in the fairness of the gaokao system that is prized as one of the few avenues still open for children from low-income families to move up the social ladder.

While many high school seniors spend as much as a year to raise just a few points to surge ahead at gaokao, those admitted to colleges because of their rich parents may have a score dozens of points lower than other freshmen. This has reinforced the growing suspicion that good Chinese universities have been increasingly favoring wealthy students with powerful connections.

Some critics are calling for making public the information on all students admitted through the "reserved seats" scheme, including their merits and the sums they paid.

This week, the government reiterated that the ban on the sale of "reserved seats" is still in force and that admission directors should sign a pledge of "zero" involvement in the practice.

But market-driven universities are good at skirting around government curbs. Perhaps the best way to meet public demand is to open the "reserved seats" to all applicants, until universities are ready not to turn the well-intentioned plan into a cash cow again.

The writer is editor-at-large of China Daily. dr.baiping@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 07/27/2013 page5)