It is generally not illegal. In an ordinary civil contract, liquidated damages may be agreed upon, and the amount or calculation method of liquidated damages shall be agreed upon by both parties through consultation. If it is a standard contract made by a training institution with penalty clauses, the training institution shall fulfill the obligation of prompting or explaining. If the failure to fulfill this obligation causes the consumer not to pay attention to or understand the clause that has a significant interest with him, the consumer may claim that the clause does not become the content of the contract. Therefore, the effectiveness of the penalty clause should be analyzed according to the specific situation.

legal ground

The standard clauses in Article 496 of the General Principles of Civil Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) are drawn up by the parties in advance for reuse, and they were not negotiated by both parties when concluding the contract. Where a contract is concluded by standard terms, the party providing the standard terms shall follow the principle of fairness to determine the rights and obligations between the parties, and take reasonable measures such as exempting or lightening their responsibilities to remind the other party of the terms that have a significant interest in them, and explain the terms according to the requirements of the other party. If the party providing the standard terms fails to perform the obligation of prompting or explaining, so that the other party fails to pay attention to or understand the terms with which it has a significant interest, the other party may claim that the terms will not become the content of the contract.