Illustrations: Luo Xuan/GT

The sudden closure of some institutions conducting extra-curricular activities and early childhood education classes has hurt many parents financially. In Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, an after-school English training institution suddenly closed on November 25 without refunding or even notifying its nearly 300 members, who had paid a total tuition fee of some 4 million yuan ($566,900). There are other similar cases in the country. Apparently, these are scams run by fly-by-night operators who collect large sums from unsuspecting parents, run the school for a brief period and then surreptitiously leave. As more Chinese parents attach greater importance to education and are willing to invest in it, such institutions have prospered. But some of them had to shut up shop due to mismanagement. What's worse, after the closure, members have no recourse to recover their money. Education should not become a tool to fleece people. It's time for authorities to take this problem seriously.