Students and their parents from East China’s Zhejiang province stand in a long queue, waiting to pay for their tuition. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Students in East China’s Jiangsu province now pay their tuition fees online, according to a recent announcement by the provincial department of finance.

The online payment system has been trialed in Suqian, a city in northern Jiangsu, since Aug 25, focusing on the collection of fees for students in compulsory education.

Students studying at 10 public primary and middle schools in Suqian can submit their payments via a provincial payment platform for civic services and its accompanying mobile app, as well as the “Educational Fees” section of the Alipay app.

From Aug 25 to 28, the peak season for fee payments ahead of the start of the new semester on Sept 1, a total of 3,632 students paid a combined 4.2 million yuan ($641,500) in educational fees online in Suqian.

The convenient new system frees students and their parents from having to wait in long queues to pay their fees in person, while also increasing the efficiency of the fees system.

Jiangsu provincial government plans to roll out the online payment system in other cities across the province by the end of the year.