Experts call for reforms to help nurture well-rounded adults

The purpose of education is to nurture children so they will become adults with all-around abilities, not just people who can achieve high test scores, education experts said.

However, realizing that goal will require efforts from all sides, working together to ease parental anxiety about competition, they added.

Tang Jiangpeng, principal of Xishan High School in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, said if students don't care about their test grades, they won't be able to pass the gaokao, the national college entrance exam. But if they spend all their energy on tests and neglect the development of other aspects, it will be difficult for them to win "the battle of life" later on.

He made the remarks during the recent two sessions, the meetings of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies. His words went viral and many parents commented that Tang had articulated thoughts they had long wanted to express.

"Good education should be designed to nurture students into lifelong sports lovers, people who accept responsibility, solve problems and live fruitful lives," said Tang, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

However, in reality, some parents arrange a raft of after-school supplementary courses, which can amount to seven or eight subjects a week, overwhelming their children with work, he said.

"I'm afraid that will only lead to them losing interest in studying," he added.

Wang Zhaoxia, the mother of a junior middle student in Beijing, said that although she understands and agrees with the experts' intentions and ideas, she finds it difficult to put the theory into practice.

"Sometimes I feel sorry for being so harsh on my son, but I can't stop myself, especially when I see that almost all the parents around me make even more demands on their kids," the 42-year-old said. "I'm worried that my son will lag behind if I am lax with him."

Hailing from an ordinary family in a small city in Shandong province, Wang studied at a prestigious university in Beijing in the late 1990s. She stayed in the capital after graduation and landed a good job with a State-owned enterprise.

Leading a relatively satisfactory life, she said a good education and hard work have brought her this far.

Wanting an equally bright future for her son, Wang has invested large amounts of time, energy and money on the boy's education since he was a toddler.

Such concern and anxiety is universal. A report on home education and parent-child relations, based on questionnaire replies from more than 18,000 parents in Beijing, showed that most felt anxious about their child's education.

"I don't know much about my child's study" and "I don't know how to help my child study" were their top issues, according to the report, which was released in November by the New Oriental Education& Technology Group, a provider of private education services.

Jiang Changzhong, director of the Hunan Education Department, said the parents' anxiety indicated their concerns about educational equality, the need for high-quality schooling, expectations of children's development and the test-, grade-and diploma-oriented atmosphere currently enveloping society.

To reduce such anxiety, Jiang said in-depth educational reform that aims to establish a scientific method of defining and evaluating talented people is needed in the modern era.

Schools and related parties should help parents develop a good philosophy of education by cutting down on unrealistic comparisons (with other children) and promoting reasonable expectations for their own children, he said.

Instead of always looking up to other people's children, parents should focus on encouraging their own offspring to become "their best self", he added.