Parents and principals in a southwest China city have expressed
doubts and concerns about a new rule that sets maximum school hours
for hard-pressed primary and middle school pupils.
Primary school children have been set a maximum six-hour school
day, and the time limits for junior middle school students are
seven hours and for senior middle school students eight hours,
according to the rule in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province.
"The rule appears good, as it sets school hour limits, forbids
prolonging of classes and extra classes," said 45-year-old Chen
Zhaosheng, whose daughter is a middle school student in the
city.
"But I have some doubts as to whether it can be put into
practice, as teachers and students now only focus on exams," he
said.
Guiyang is not the first to set the maximum school hours in the
country. In accordance with a regulation issued in 1994 by China's
education authorities asking schools to ease children's study
burdens, cities such as Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Wuhan have
promulgated similar rules.
In urban primary schools, children commonly stay at school after
class, studying until their parents pick them up. Many middle
school students stay in school doing homework assigned by
teachers.
"My son is addicted to Internet bars. I cannot imagine what will
happen when he is completely left alone as the school will ask him
to go home earlier than before," said Lin Zhigang, 41, whose son is
in middle school.
Like Chen and Lin, many parents hold a wait-and-see attitude
toward the new rule, which will come into force in the new spring
semester.? But some principals agree with the rule.
"I totally support the rule, which has led to the cancellation
of morning self-study classes, allowing students more sleep at
home," said Ci Zhaoming, vice-president of the No. 21 Middle
School.
The stipulations of less homework hours were also good as they
gave students more free time.
Chinese middle school students are often compelled to sacrifice
spare time for homework in the face of fierce competition in
college entrance exams, regarded by parents the best opportunity
for a successful future.
According to the Ministry of Education, universities and
colleges nationwide enrolled 5.3 million students last year from
more than 9.5 million who sat the collage entrance exams -- a
failure rate of almost half.
To ensure their children's success, pushy Chinese parents and
teachers put heavy pressure on children to spend more time
studying.
A survey by the China Youth and Children Research Center showed
88 percent of the primary school parents and 50 percent middle
school parents assigned extra homework to their children.
A survey by the Ministry of Education in 2004 showed that 30
percent of primary school children and 60 percent of middle school
pupils suffered myopia, or short-sightedness, commonly attributed
to too much study.
"The purpose of the rule is to ease the burden on students, but
the problem lies in the exam-oriented education in which high
marks, to a great degree, mean excellence and more chance to enter
college," said Ci.
"Of course I want my child to relax from study," said parent
Chen. "But I have to be responsible for her future as the pressure
for entrance into higher schools or colleges is always there."
He planned to find a tutor to help with his daughter's classes
during her summer holidays this year.
(China Daily January 18, 2007)