Controversy over whether to join a swimming club requires... a college degree

The 2049 International Swimming and Diving Training Center in Jiangsu Province, China, has recently made a controversial move. The center operates a swimming club for women. Priority is given to women who love swimming, are well-educated, and are under the age of 45.

Women who want to join the club need to have a college degree. The membership fee is 576 yuan for two months of participation (equivalent to 2 million VND).

A swimming club in China has caused controversy because it requires members to have... a university degree (Illustration photo: SCMP).

The reason why "well-educated" is included in the list of requirements for club members is because these people are believed to have higher IQs, are more knowledgeable, have better personalities, and understand the rules of conduct better.

According to the club management representative, the educational criteria set out in the member selection process will help them ensure the quality of the club's activities, contributing to maintaining the comfort of members during their participation.

However, the club's membership selection criteria have caused controversy in Chinese public opinion, as they show discrimination based on education.

Faced with the controversy that the club created in public opinion, the club's management group representative initially affirmed that this criterion was selective, helping to ensure the quality of the club's operations in the long term.

Many netizens believe that having a degree is not a sure guarantee of good behavior or good qualities in a person.

However, some netizens believe that service providers also have the right to choose which customers to serve, just like customers have the right to choose their service providers. Both parties have the right to set their own rules, as long as they do not violate the law.

Lawyer Liu Jian of Zhenyu Law Firm (Jiangsu) said that the swimming club management should reconsider the criteria set for members. In particular, the criteria on qualifications may have violated the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests.

This law provides for the right of consumers to obtain fair and equitable purchase agreements. Discrimination based on educational attainment is a sign of unfairness in the treatment of customers.

Following the public controversy, Jiangsu Province's culture, sports and tourism authorities have asked the swimming club to review its membership selection criteria.

The authorities said they had worked with the club's representatives to ask them to review the messages they sent to the public. The authorities asked them to send messages that were standard, humane, appropriate to the majority of the community, and did not create negative misunderstandings.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/tranh-cai-chuyen-muon-tham-gia-cau-lac-bo-boi-loi-phai-co-bang-dai-hoc-20240925095329661.htm