About 1.7 billion yuan (around 212.5 million US dollars) in unreasonable school fees was charged since 2003, according to the Ministry of Education.

Tian Shulan, head of the disciplinary inspection group with the ministry, announced this on Tuesday at a press conference, adding that the government has launched a campaign to curb over-charging, which is rampant in parts of the country.

Tian said that more than 1.37 billion yuan (about 171 million U.S. dollars) has been returned to relevant families and institutions.

Altogether 56,000 groups have been dispatched nationwide since 2003 to spot over-charging in more than 876,000 Chinese schools. A total of 794 school heads have been removed from their posts.

More than 5,900 people have received administrative and party disciplinary punishment for their involvement in these cases, Tian said.

The State Council, China's cabinet, convened a leading workforce to combat unreasonable charges in 2003, with nine governmental departments including the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance as its members.