City legislators have proposed banning schools from posting students' marks publicly and allowing everyone to know who is the best and worst student in a class.

While students applaud the idea, some parents are not pleased.

The proposed law followed a public hearing on the city's Law for Protecting Minor's Interests on Sunday.

More than a dozen students spoke to legislators about the law at the meeting, the first time the city's legislative body has heard directly from minors.

"It is necessary that we ban teachers' rankings from being publicized because it always puts us under great pressure," said Ju Yingwen, a third-year student at the No. 2 Middle School affiliated to East China Normal University.

"While teachers get some idea of each student's performance, publicizing the results to the public tortures students who underperform, leaving them with feelings of disgrace."

Teachers rank students by their marks after exams and then make the list public to the entire class and parents.

In 1998, the Shanghai Education Commission called on teachers to stop making such lists public, but the suggestion was not universally adopted.

Ding Wei, deputy director of the legislative committee of the Shanghai People's Congress, said it was time to ease students' already heavy burden and help their psychological development by upgrading the suggestion to law.

Some parents say they consider the lists an important tool to track the performance of their children against other classmates.

"If a child is distressed by such a list, how will they deal with bigger pressure in the future," asked Yuan Genbao, a local father.

At Sunday's hearing, students also called on legislators to protect their privacy by banning parents from reading their diaries and letters without permission.

Campus violence was another topic discussed at the meeting.

The SPC's Standing Committee will debate the proposal at the congress' 15th session scheduled next Tuesday.

(Shanghai Daily October 15, 2004)