The Ministry of Education has once again stated it forbids schools, including kindergartens, from charging extra fees.

The ministry should count how many times it has publicized a statement on this issue, even though this time it was joined by six other central government departments. More importantly, it should ponder why its words don't count.

Similar announcements have been heard in recent years. Last year the ministry even issued a timetable of measures aimed at bringing the situation under control in five years. But they have proved quite ineffectual.

Related readings:  Battle for good schools not good  Kindergarten entry not child's play  Debate: Education system

It is an open secret that schools with better resources, including pre-school institutions, charge large sums of money.

Beijing, where the ministry sits, is a very bad example for the rest of the country. It has the country's best schools and rich families are asked to pay dearly to ensure their children can be enrolled in these schools, which turns the announcements into a joke and puts the ministry's credibility at stake.

It is not words but deeds that count.

The ministry should take concrete measures to stop elite schools making parents their money-spinners.

Under China's Compulsory Education Law, these schools are not allowed to collect extra money as the government supports them financially. All children are supposed to share the educational resources.

Schools should enroll students based on their academic performance and the community where they live. Levying extra fees leads to an unfair distribution of educational resources.

The elite schools leave others far behind as they have enough money to recruit the best teachers, build better classrooms and buy better teaching materials.

Children from wage-earning and poor families have to do very well in examinations to gain a berth at an elite high school. But rich families can buy their children a place.

Effectively instilling values in children demands that schools narrow the scope of what they expect of students and focus their efforts. There are fundamental values that are linked closely to schools and education. They include honesty, integrity and fairness.

But the way the elite public schools enlist students by exploiting families with deep pockets is unfair. How can we expect our children to grow into adults with integrity?

To ensure fair access for all, the ministry should make all government resources evenly distributed. In other words, government-funded schools should not be categorized in two groups - elite and ordinary.

This would make the country's compulsory education fairer for all children.