Students at a primary school in Beijing's Haidian district attend the opening ceremony for a new semester on Sept 1. More than 780 migrant students were transferred to the school for the semester as it is nearer to their homes than their previous schools. [Photo/ China Daily]

A PRIMARY SCHOOL in Yongfu county, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, set up a special class last autumn with two elementary schools for the students with the lowest grades. According to parents of these students, the school allotted them the worst classroom and substitute teachers. Sichuan Online said on Friday:

The principal of the primary school denied any discrimination against poorly performing students and said the special class was to optimize the education for them.

But not all the students with the lowest grades were sent to the "optimized" class. Among 51 students with the worst grades, eight were sent to other classes, because their parents are said to be relatives or friends of teachers. So the worst performing students are even treated differently due to their family backgrounds or their families' social connections.

Such discrimination violates the principle of equality in education The schools are in dereliction of their duty by treating some students as second-class. The local education bureau has also failed to uphold the principle of fairness, because it approved the formation.

Fairness in education is the starting point and the cornerstone of the fairness in society. No discrimination against children within or outside schools should be allowed.