For university students in Guangzhou, the trade fair held every October is a good chance to practice their English and communication skills. It's also a good way to earn some extra cash.

One Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GUFS) senior earned 2,400 yuan (US$289) by working as an English translator at the fair for 10 days in late October.

But she's not so happy. What happened?

She's been told to give part of her earnings, 300 yuan in fact, to her university.

According to rules set by the university, a student who works as an English translator at the annual event has to pay the school a "management fee" of 30 yuan per day. Students working as a French or Spanish translator have to pay 50 yuan per day.

Those who don't follow the rules will be listed on a school bulletin board as a form of public exposure.

These "management fees" have been around for 10 years at some other Guangzhou institutions like Sun Yat-sen, Jinan, and South China Normal universities, all of which provide students who help out at the fairs.

All GUFS students who worked at the fair paid the fee, but some were not so happy about it.

And, last week, these "questionable" charges were at the centre of a debate.

About 160 of the 400 students in the school's foreign language department got jobs as translators at this year's fair and around 120 said the charges were unreasonable.

"We find the jobs ourselves. What has the school done for us?" the GUFS senior asked.

Lin Shaoxiong, head of the university's student affairs department, believes that the criticism is unfair.

"Although we didn't help them find the jobs, we provided recommendation letters. Students find the job partly because of the university's name," Lin commented.

He also said the fee acts as a kind of insurance should anything go wrong.

"If a student has any conflict with the employer, the university will have to pay compensation or deal with the lawsuits," he explained. "Up to now, no conflict has ever been reported to the school."

However, some students disagree.

"Most employers judge us on our ability rather than which university we're from," said one junior from Jinan University. His boss at the fair interviewed him in English and asked him to explain some trade terms.

He says he got the job even before showing the recommendation letter.

He also believes there have never been any conflicts between students and people at the fair, so the university has never had to compensate.

"Most of us worked no more than two weeks at the fair. What we and employers do for each other is very clear. Seldom do any conflicts arise," he said.

So, what do the schools do with the money? That's another student concern.

"The fee is used for future activities," said Lin.

And some students say they support the fee.

Yang Fei, a junior at Guangzhou University, said, "If the school can help when conflicts arises, I'm willing to pay."

A lawyer surnamed Peng at Guangzhou's Nan'guo Desai Law Firm, takes a different view.

"It's ridiculous to justify the charge by saying that students get the job because of the fame of the school," says Peng.

"Universities are responsible for providing a recommendation letter and giving a helping hand if they have any trouble," added him.

Peng does add, however, that a charge is okay if the university has done something like contact a company to help a student find a job.

In the US and UK, most universities help students find part-time jobs for free as part of their service.

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