大陸幼兒園管理混亂 學校能擅自給孩子吃藥嗎

Should schools give children medicine without parental permission?

未經家長允許，學校能給孩子吃藥嗎？

That's the question that has been reverberating in parental circles across China after news emerged that a string of kindergartens were allegedly dispensing antiviral drugs without parents' consent.

這個問題最近在中國的家長圈子裏激起層層漣漪，導火索是中國多所幼兒園被指在未獲得家長允許的情況下向兒童分發抗病毒藥物。

China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that four kindergarten programs--two in Xian in western Shaanxi province, one in central Hubei and another in northeastern Jilin--have been shut due to the problem, with some parents saying their children were suffering from leg pains, nosebleeds and genital inflammation after taking the medicine.

據中國官方媒體新華社報道，四所幼兒園因相關問題被關閉，其中兩所位於中國西部 西省西安市、一所位於華中的湖北省，還有一所在東北的吉林省，一些家長說，他們的孩子在服藥後出現腿痛、流鼻血、生殖器腫脹等症狀。

Authorities are investigating the matter, and three people in Jilin have been detained in connection with the allegations, Xinhua said. Five others from schools in Xian have also been detained, Xinhua said.

新華社說，有關當局正在調查此事，吉林已有三人被拘捕。新華社說，西安幼兒園也有五人被拘捕。

The issue came to light Friday, after one parent in Xian found her daughter had brought home a prescription flu pill. Other cases came to light as the news spread.

這起事件在上週五曝光，當時西安一名家長髮現女兒將一片處方感冒藥帶回了家。隨着消息擴散，其他事例也被曝光。

Xinhua says that money appears to be a motivating factor. Some parents believe the schools were trying to ward off sickness to ensure students didn't take sick days, it said. Many private kindergartens and preschools in China charge by the number of days students attend school, so fewer sick days equals more money for the teachers.

新華社報道說，驅使幼兒園這樣做的原因似乎是金錢。報道稱，一些家長認爲，幼兒園的目的是防止孩子生病缺勤。中國許多幼兒園都是按孩子入園的天數收費，因此減少病假缺勤天數就意味着教師能有更多收入。

Others have cited the fact that there is no law prohibiting the practice as a contributing factor.

還有人認爲，沒有法律明文禁止這種行爲也是造成這一結果的因素之一。

'Although their actions were wrong, there is no ban based on law. In other words, it's not illegal for an immoral kindergarten to give children unauthorized medications,' Li Jing, the deputy head of Beijing's private Sunny High Scope Kindergarten told the China Daily.

北京私立的陽光高瞻國際幼兒園教師李靜對《中國日報》說，雖然他們的行爲不對，但法律沒有明文禁止；換句話說，不道德的幼兒園未經允許就給孩子吃藥並不違法。

The drugs given to students are cheap, just a few cents per pill, said Justin Wang, a partner and director in the Shanghai office of consultancy L.E.K. Consulting LLC, and economic incentives were likely high enough to convince teachers to take the risk.

諮詢公司L.E.K. Consulting LLC上海辦事處合夥人兼主管王景燁(Justin Wang)說，幼兒園給孩子吃的藥很便宜，一片才幾分錢，而經濟刺激可能足夠高，讓老師願意冒這個險。

Parents of school-age children say schools in China typically require parental consent before administering medication. However, health practices in China's education system vary drastically from the U.S. Some Chinese schools get parental consent to conduct health checks that involve procedures like blood and urine tests; school health checks in the U.S. are often limited to screenings for eyesight, lice and scoliosis.

學齡兒童的家長說，學校在組織用藥前通常會徵求家長同意。但中國教育系統的衛生保健做法與美國迥異。一些中國學校會在徵得家長同意後進行涉及血液和尿液檢測的體檢，而美國的學校體檢通常僅限於視力、蝨子和脊柱側彎的篩查。

Many parents in China say schools frequently inform them when their children are sick and before performing health checks. Still, schools usually provide only scant information, said Elaine Wang, a mother of two children in local Beijing schools.

很多中國家長說，在孩子生病時和接受體檢前，學校經常會通知他們。有兩個孩子在北京當地上學的Elaine Wang說，但學校通常只提供有限的信息。

'They inform you that there will be a health screening, but they don't say what happens during those screenings,' Ms. Wang said.

Wang說，他們會通知你孩子需要體檢，但不會告訴你體檢過程中具體會發生什麼。