“Smart School-Home” Cannot Access Child’s Grades Without Payment? Education Bureau: No Unified Arrangements, Investigation Will Be Conducted.
A parent of a student from Xingang School in Pingqiao District, Xinyang, Henan Province, reported that the school uses the “Smart Home-School” app to send notifications and report students’ examination scores, and parents are unable to access this information unless they pay a fee. In response, the Pingqiao District Education and Sports Bureau stated that it has not unified the use of the “Smart Home-School” app across all schools in the district and would contact the school to understand the situation.
On December 17, this parent reported on the public interaction platform “Service Pai” (https://tousu.thepaper.cn) that her two children attend Xingang School. Previously, teachers notified parents to download the “Smart Home-School” app, where they would post school and class announcements, attendance, as well as upload examination scores.
The parent mentioned that upon downloading the app, she found that it required a membership fee of 5 yuan per month, stating, “The school claims it is voluntary, but without activation, the midterm and final scores cannot be accessed.”
Without payment, the parent is unable to check her child’s scores for weekly tests and midterms. She provided screenshots indicating that the monthly subscription was priced at 5 yuan, while 6 months costs 30 yuan and 12 months costs 60 yuan. Another screenshot confirmed her inability to view her child’s scores for weekly tests and midterms without payment.
This parent told The Paper that previously, teachers used a mini-program called “Class Little Housekeeper” for notifications, allowing parents to submit assignments, mark attendance, and view scores for free. However, she noted that teachers are no longer using the “Class Little Housekeeper.”
On the afternoon of December 17, a reporter from The Paper called the Pingqiao District Education and Sports Bureau. A staff member from the Basic Education Division responded that the bureau had not implemented a unified arrangement for all schools to use “Smart Home-School,” and he was unaware of its usage at Xingang School.
“The service cannot be conducted if parents do not agree to pay,” said the staff member, who added they would contact Xingang School to gather more information.
On December 17, the reporter repeatedly tried to contact Xingang School, but no response was received.
The reporter noted that the official website of “Smart Home-School” stated it is a smart education platform aimed at the digital transformation of campuses, focusing on five core applications: teaching, learning, management, assessment, and evaluation, covering scenarios including safe campuses, academic management, teaching and research, data centers, office collaboration, campus life, and home-school co-education. “Smart Home-School” is developed by Henan School Information Technology Co., Ltd.
According to Tianyancha, Henan School Information Technology Co., Ltd. was established on January 26, 2007, with a registered capital of 8 million yuan, and its business scope includes internet information services, wholesale and retail of publications, software development and sales, and technical services.
