烧钱培训(shāoqián péixùn): Cash burning extracurricular class

Extracurricular classes have become a heavy burden on families with children attending primary or middle school. After-school classes, such as English, maths and painting, cost thousands of yuan. A survey in Beijing found that 92 percent of the Grade Four and Grade Five pupils interviewed attended extracurricular classes. Some parents even lamented that what they were raising were not children but "cash burners".

The reason that they send their children to after-school classes despite the cost is complicated.

For one thing, unified entrance examinations during the primary and middle school period have been largely canceled due to educational reform, which makes the parents resort to a variety of extracurricular training organizations to improve their children's academic performance in an all-round way.

And for another thing, after school training organizations seek to give the impression that all children have to take extracurricular classes if they want to compete with the peers. This has made parents worry that their children might lose the race on the starting line. Thus they are willing to pay for the after-school tuition so their kids do not fall behind.