Netizens have criticized a teacher at a high school in Sichuan province for trying to motivate his students by asking them to deposit money — promising to give a refund to students with top scores, but less than a full refund to those with low marks.

The teacher at Fuxing High School in Jintang county, surnamed Xiao, asked his 46 students to deposit money. Those Xiao judged as good students would deposit 100 yuan ($14.5); troublemakers had to deposit twice that.

Under the rule, Xiao would return money to students based on their scores.

A netizen known as "Jin Doubeng" commented that the threat of losing money was flawed because it will never turn a lazy student who is rich into a top performer.

Xiao's program was short-lived, as the school told him to give all the money back.

Soon after the new term started following Spring Festival, a netizen spread the news online that his younger sister, a first-grader, and her classmates had been asked to pay the deposits.

Xiao said that some students thought the deposits would be an effective way to push themselves to study harder and get higher test scores after posing low scores in January.

They suggested the money plan as motivational tool, Xiao said, so he decided to try it when the new term started earlier this month, when they raised the idea again.

When the news hit the internet, the school intervened and told Xiao to refund all the money, even though some students said their parents knew what was going on and were not opposed.

The Jintang county Bureau of Education is investigating the case, saying it is improper to use a threat of financial penalties to push students to improve their schoolwork.