Education
After-school programs burden children and parents
By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-23 11:09
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Parents often send their children to after-school programs, even when the kids are only in kindergarten.
"I signed up for three courses for my son; every course cost at least 600 yuan," said Jiang Zhuoyan, a young mother who enrolled her boy in extracurricular English, chess, and roller skating lessons.
The cost of after-school classes together with expensive admission fee is a financial strain on many families.
Some parents are forced to register for such classes because of regulations made by the kindergartens their children attend. A mother who would not use her real name complained online that her child in Tongzhou kindergarten was required to take at least three after school classes every semester, otherwise, the child would be left alone while other children are having class.
The course list she copied and posted online from the kindergarten includes six classes: computer, clay making, dancing, English, drawing and martial arts. Each course costs at least 300 yuan for 16 hours per semester.
Some parents think the extra classes put too much pressure on young students.
Han Donghui, professor at Renmin University of China, said he has plenty of time to take care of his son, adding he's sure spending time with his child will be every bit as beneficial as sending the boy to after-school classes.
Han will send his son to kindergarten starting this summer but said he simply not as anxious as many other parents.
"I will register for one or two after-school classes at most, once my son is in kindergarten -definitely not more than two classes," he said.
Home-schooling more important than the formal education provided by kindergartens, he added.
The few after-school classes Han might opt for - music lessons and sports programs - are not academic.
It's important for children to have well-rounded physical and mental development, according to Han.
Each after-school program will likely be several hundred to 1,000 yuan per semester, in addition to kindergarten fees of 1,000 yuan a month. But money should not be a primary concern when it comes to children's education, said Han.
But not all parents have as much time as Han to look after their offspring and feel they have no choice but to sign up for extracurricular classes.
"The kindergarten admission fee is about 31,000 yuan every year.
In addition to that, I have to spend more than 4,000 every year on after school classes," a young mother surnamed Chen, who sends her child to the private Huijia kindergarten, said in an interview with Qianlong.com.
According to the Beijing municipal commission of education, there is no specific regulation concerning the charge of after-school classes in kindergartens, although there is a ban on such programs during the regular class time.
Liang Zhishen, a preschool education expert said in an interview with Beijing Youth Daily that some after-school classes, such as 'Olympic math,' are bad for children.
"Children in kindergartens are not ready for math yet, let alone the difficulty entailed in these 'Olympic math'classes," Liang said.
"This kind of class is a waste of money."
