The "agreement class" for postgraduate entrance examination that charges tens of thousands of yuan is tricky, the quality of teaching is poor, and refunds are always difficult

　　On September 27th, the online pre-registration for the 2023 National Postgraduate Admissions Examination was completed. Less than 100 days before the initial examination, the postgraduate entrance examination entered the final sprint stage.

　　It is predicted that the number of applicants for postgraduate entrance examination this year may reach a new high, exceeding 5 million.

Driven by the craze for postgraduate entrance exams, various high-priced training courses have been launched one after another.

Some institutions have launched so-called "agreement classes", with fees ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 to 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, claiming that they can get refunds if they fail to pass the exam.

However, "people who have come over" found that refunding is much more difficult than expected.

Phenomenon

The class names are often tens of thousands of yuan

　　"The postgraduate entrance examination is really getting more and more papers, and the scores are getting higher and higher year by year." Xiaohan is a senior this year and joined the preparation army early.

Although I spend every day reviewing in the library, I still don't know what to do. "I've been thinking about whether to sign up for a sprint class recently, but I know that it might not work, it's just a 'psychological comfort'."

　　"Targeted super-power special training, quickly break the deadlock of test preparation" "race against time to capture the postgraduate entrance examination, immediately start the road to counterattack"...On the Internet, training institutions have launched a variety of postgraduate postgraduate remedial classes.

Taking one of them as an example, the special training camps include year-round special training camps, summer special training camps, half-year special training camps, online special training camps, autumn special training camps, sprint special training camps, pre-exam special training camps, etc. .

　　"If you sign up now, the offline full closed class is 29,800 yuan. Classes are from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 12:00 in the morning, 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon, and evening self-study at night." The course consultant said that the institution still works online. , live classes from Monday to Friday, the fee is 12,800 yuan.

　　It is also an online work, and the quotation of another training institution is linked to the number of subjects.

"If you only sign up for small online classes in mathematics, politics and English, the fee will be around 8,000 yuan. If you add one-on-one tutoring in professional courses, it will be around 13,000 or 4." Judging from the promotional materials, the so-called small class management , which means no more than 100 people.

Not all lectures are live broadcast.

Taking mathematics as an example, the recording and broadcasting include a 45-hour real-question phase, a 72-hour intensive phase, and a 60-hour question-writing phase, occupying the absolute main force, while the live broadcast time adds up to less than 39 hours.

　　In contrast, the class names introduced by some training institutions are more complicated.

"The agreement class is to sign an agreement. If you are not admitted, there will be a refund." The course consultant sent an introduction to the 100-day sprint series of courses. In addition to the general subject live class and the general subject preliminary examination class, the table also lists the general subject preliminary examination. Protocol classes and general care-free protocol classes.

"These are live classes. The third and fourth classes belong to the protocol class, and the class hours will be more, and one-on-one targeted tutoring will be added."

　　The reporter learned that the agreed class charges 22,800 yuan and 30,800 yuan respectively, which is more than 10,000 yuan more expensive than the other two classes.

According to the promise, if you take the exam normally and the study completion rate is above 70%, you can get a refund ranging from 10,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan for the professional re-examination of the target institution, or you can re-read it for free.

　　"If there is no class, in fact, the sprint training camp is quite suitable, and the learning atmosphere is better." According to the course consultant, the training camp will be carried out at the offline base.

The product system of the training camp shows that the general subject agreement class is divided into 6 phases according to the registration time. The general postgraduate professional fee is 35,800 yuan to 37,800 yuan, and the direct agreement class is 50,800 yuan to 52,800 yuan.

If you do not enter the professional re-examination of the target college, 15,000 yuan and 25,000 yuan will be refunded respectively.

　　"There are classes from Monday to Friday, and it is a semi-closed type that integrates food, lodging and learning. The prices listed in the table only include courses, and the cost of food and lodging is not included." The course consultant said that the institution also has VIP online 1-to-1 general courses Protocol class.

"The enrollment of 320 class hours has been stopped, and now there are 218 class hours." From the price point of view, the general class charges 66,800 yuan.

If you fail to enter the target college for the re-examination, a refund of 25,000 yuan will be given.

"Offline, each class is 45 minutes, and the difference is 150 yuan."

question

Poor quality of teaching makes it difficult to refund fees

　　"When they were promoted, they said they were famous teachers, but it was only when they actually went to class that they found out that most of the so-called famous teachers are recorded and broadcasted classes, which are not much different from the video materials that can be found on the Internet." After registering for the class, Xiao Xu found that "the goods are not right", "Some of the live classes are just scripted, and the content is very watery, and some even directly find students from colleges and universities to substitute the class, and the quality is not guaranteed at all."

　　Can I get a refund if I don't pass the test?

　　According to the statement given by the course consultant of a training institution, the refund period is 45 working days after it is determined that the applicant has not been admitted.

"If you haven't passed the first test, you will have to wait for the national line and the adjustment stage, and then everyone will handle it together. It's not that you don't have enough scores to handle it immediately, because you have to go through the process."

　　The reporter's investigation found that on the black cat complaint platform, complaints about the agency's "difficulty in refunding fees" abound.

There are candidates who signed up for the 2022 postgraduate entrance examination sprint training camp series general agreement classes on October 24, 2021. The contract stipulates that the institution should verify the authenticity of the materials and meet the refund conditions within 45 working days after the student fails the preliminary examination for postgraduate entrance examination. refund.

"My application for a refund has been approved on May 13, 2022, but the refund has not been given for a long time, and I have repeatedly urged in the middle to no avail."

　　After that, the agency replied on the platform that "a refund will be arranged in the near future", but until the end of August, the candidates still did not receive a refund, "no staff contacted me, and no specific refund date was stated."

　　After applying for a refund, Xiaotong's experience at another training institution was also quite bumpy.

"The head teacher said that she can't be the master, and the consultant can't be the master either. After procrastinating for a month, she gave me a detailed fee deduction, which is actually more expensive than my tuition fee. "In the deduction project, Xiaotong saw that the content included supervisors, educational administration, diamond card books, VIP public classes, summer training camps, online platform services, liquidated damages, etc., totaling 30,870 yuan.

Among them, there are 235 VIP lessons in public courses, with a total of 11,750 yuan.

　　Xiaotong didn't understand how the 235 class hours were calculated.

What made her even more puzzling was that she did not participate in the summer vacation training camp at all, but she had to deduct 8,800 yuan.

"There is also a service platform fee, which actually costs 3,000 yuan. But at the beginning, I applied for offline get off work, and there is no price difference when I changed it to online. It's incredible."

　　Among the numerous complaints, one training institution was completely silent.

Many candidates have reported that they have been unable to get in touch with training institutions after failing the postgraduate entrance examination.

The reporter called the after-sales phone number given on the training institution's website, but the result was "unsuccessful."

On the Tianyan investigation, the reporter found the contact information of the legal person again, but was told that "the phone you dialed has been turned off."

Risk information shows that the company has been listed as a dishonest person to be executed 4 times since the beginning of this year due to "the ability to perform but refusal to perform the obligations determined by the effective legal documents".

remind

Do not believe in the "protocol class" and make rational choices

　　"The so-called 'agreement class' or 'guaranteed class' is usually just a gimmick. Candidates must keep their eyes open and do not trust the propaganda of training institutions." Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, said that with the number of postgraduate entrance examinations The competition for postgraduate entrance examination is increasing and the competition for postgraduate entrance examination is becoming more and more fierce. Many postgraduate counseling institutions take advantage of the anxiety of candidates to create training needs. The actual quality is uneven, and there is no way to guarantee teachers. Candidates should be rationally screened and selected carefully.

"Excessive training can easily make candidates fall into routine test-taking. Even if the false scores are packaged, it cannot really improve professional quality and research ability, and it is not beneficial to long-term development." In Chu Zhaohui's view, postgraduate entrance examination is only a life development plan One of the possibilities is not a necessary option, and the input-output ratio may not be as high as imagined, so there is no need to invest a lot of money in a desperate attempt, "I suggest that you think clearly before applying for the test, whether you are suitable for further education, and don't blindly follow the trend. "

　　As a "passenger" for postgraduate entrance examination, Chen Fan felt that "agreement class" or "guaranteed class" is nothing more than a marketing method used by postgraduate training institutions to attract candidates' attention.

"In fact, as long as the number of applicants is large enough, there will always be someone who will be admitted by their own efforts. The high tuition fees paid by these candidates in advance can be fully received by the institution." Chen Fan mentioned that even those who follow the agreement Candidates who need refunds will also be passive due to the long refund cycle. Some training institutions deliberately delay time to obtain more benefits.

"Those high-priced re-examination guarantees are more absurd, because the admission ratio of re-examination is already very high, and it is a high probability to be admitted, why should the institution make an extra fortune in vain?"

　　Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, reminded that "agreement classes" or "guarantee classes" are not legally allowed to appear.

Article 24 of the "Advertising Law" clearly stipulates that education and training advertisements shall not contain "explicit or implied guarantee commitments for further education, passing examinations, obtaining a degree or qualification certificate, or the effect of education or training". It is not allowed to "explicitly or imply that the relevant examination institutions or their staff members and test-taking personnel are involved in education and training".

　　"If you encounter 'difficulty in refunding', candidates cannot consider themselves unlucky, and should actively protect their rights." Zhu Wei suggested that in addition to negotiating with training institutions to resolve disputes, candidates can also complain to relevant departments, or apply to consumer associations and other institutions or organizations Negotiated solution.

When necessary, file a lawsuit in the people's court and use legal means to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

(Reporter Zong Yuanyuan)