Action taken to ease burden on students2021-08-27
Action taken to ease burden on students
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  • Students attend a summer computer programming course in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, in 2019. WANG QIMING/FOR CHINA DAILY </p> Zhao Yingying was deeply relieved when he learned that his daughter, a fifth-grade student in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, no longer had to take after-school tutoring courses each week. </p> Due to peer pressure from her classmates, the girl used to take courses in Chinese language, math and English on the weekends, Zhao said. </p> Such courses are often expensive and time- and energy-consuming, Zhao said. They trigger anxiety and problems can arise when enrolling for the most popular courses that promise good grades, but are usually the source of family tensions and arguments, he added. </p> A guideline issued recently by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council banned curriculum-based training on weekends, during national holidays and winter and summer vacations." data-bigimg="http://static.jstv.com/img/2021/8/27/20218271630036656308_76_b.jpg"/>
  • The entrance to a New Oriental Education & Technology Group outlet in Xiamen, Fujian province. CHEN XIAORONG/CHINA DAILY </p> Known as The long-anticipated guideline includes a number of strict measures, such as requiring curriculum-based tutoring institutions to register as nonprofit organizations. These institutions are also banned from advertising, raising money from the public or hiring teachers who live overseas to conduct training.

    In addition to reducing the amount and difficulty of homework, the guideline details requirements for improving the quality of after-school services offered by schools.

    Zhao said he hopes the guideline can be strictly implemented at grassroots level as soon as possible.

    He added that in recent years, parents and students in urban areas have been involved in an endless rat race by signing up for all types of after-school tutoring courses. "It is exhausting. When everyone takes such courses, this just raises the bar higher for school enrollment and has little real benefit," Zhao said." data-bigimg="http://static.jstv.com/img/2021/8/27/20218271630036661964_76_b.jpg"/>
  • A teacher instructs a student in Shenyang, Liaoning province, in July last year. CHINA DAILY </p> Grades important </p> Lu Jingxuan, the mother of a kindergarten pupil in Beijing's Dongcheng district, also welcomes the new policy. </p> Her son's weekly English-language tutoring courses have been suspended since March, as the city tightens regulations on courses for preschool pupils. </p> Although he is still at kindergarten, she is concerned about his future academic performance. Many parents she knows have signed their children up for a range of tutoring courses.

    "I want him to know that good grades are important and can help him get closer to his life goals, but more important than academic achievements is his ability to acquire knowledge and knowing how to use it," Lu said.

    However, some parents doubt whether the action taken by the government to reduce the academic burden on primary and middle school students will work.

    They fear that with schools reducing the amount of homework, making tests easier and placing less emphasis on the importance of scores－along with the strict restrictions imposed on after-school tutoring courses－there are few options to ensure their children achieve good marks in high school and college entrance exams.

    The mother of a fifth-grade student in Haidian district, Beijing, who wanted to be known only as Wei, said she has become more worried about her son's future following the introduction of the new policy.

    She said the government has made more efforts to promote vocational education, and more students who fail to achieve good scores in the high school entrance exam are attending vocational high schools." data-bigimg="http://static.jstv.com/img/2021/8/27/20218271630036664636_76_b.jpg"/>
  • Children take an online English-language course in March at home in Beijing. CHINA DAILY </p> Her son started taking tutoring courses in Chinese language, math and English when he was in the first grade. Wei said the boy likes taking the courses because they help him improve his grades and boost his confidence with classmates.

    Wei has switched the weekend tutoring courses for the upcoming autumn semester to weekdays.

    Sun Wanyu, a middle school teacher in Chaoyang district, Beijing, said her students have had extremely busy academic lives, as their parents have placed too much pressure on their children's academic performance.

    Her school is a boarding institution, where students can study by themselves for several hours in classrooms at night during weekdays. However, many of them still take private tutoring courses outside of school, because self-study courses do not offer instruction in new subjects, Sun said.

    One student told her that his parents had taken up all his spare time with tutoring courses, and to relax he played with his phone during the courses, which angered them.

    Students do not want to take tutoring courses and long for a break from the intense academic pressure, she added.

    "Many parents in Beijing had good academic performances when they were students, but they cannot accept the fact that their children might not be as smart or as diligent as they were," Sun said. Parents place too much emphasis on the sacrifices they make for their offspring and become frustrated when their children do not live up to expectations, Sun added." data-bigimg="http://static.jstv.com/img/2021/8/27/20218271630036667339_76_b.jpg"/>
  • A boy reads at a Beijing after-school education institute in May. ZHAO CHENGSHUN/FOR CHINA DAILY </p> A student's success should be judged on more than just a well-paid job and enrollment at a leading university, she said. </p> Instead of focusing solely on their children's academic achievements, parents should spend more time learning about their offsprings' psychological well-being and interests, she added. </p> Tian Bingbing, principal of Chunhui Primary School in Hangzhou, said teachers at the school would hold one-on-one talks with parents who have become overanxious about their children's grades and have signed them up for too many tutoring courses. </p> There is no need for children to take several courses in the same subject, or for them to take courses they have little interest in, Tian said. </p> When students' weekends are occupied with such courses and they do not get enough sleep, they tend to rest during school classes, she said. </p> Tian said she hopes the new guideline can be implemented for the long term and can reduce students' academic workload. </p> Although some parents may still have doubts about the guideline, schools should lead the way in strictly implementing it by reducing the amount and difficulty of homework and tests, she said. </p> Schools should strictly abide by the national syllabus and not make courses and tests too difficult for students, she added. </p> Tian said her school has organized a day-care service for students during the summer vacation. The service includes homework tutoring and activities such as reading, sports, interest groups and clubs. Since 2018, the school has also provided students with after-school programs on weekdays to help parents unable to pick up their children immediately after classes, she said. </p> Cui Shifeng, principal of Hefei Hupo Mingcheng Primary School in Anhui province, said it also launched after-school programs in 2018. </p> The programs include a free daycare service, affordable interest development courses provided by third-party organizations, and courses organized by outside professionals and volunteers to promote student awareness in subjects such as psychological health and environmental protection, he said. </p> Learning knowledge that is too difficult for them at an early age is not helpful for children's long-term development, and too much academic training may lead to lost interest in learning, he said.

    Even if children achieve academic scores that qualify them for the best universities in the country, without physical, mental and social skills, they might fail to live up to expectations, Cui added. He said schools should shoulder the main responsibility for students' education and improve the quality of lessons so that they do not feel the need to take tutoring courses.

    Moreover, the evaluation standards for students taking high school and university entrance exams should be reformed to prevent high scores being achieved simply by rote memory and repeated exercises, Cui said.

    Rather than focusing solely on academic subjects, these standards should reflect students' overall moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic grounding, he added." data-bigimg="http://static.jstv.com/img/2021/8/27/20218271630036670620_76_b.jpg"/>

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