Draft moots cut in homework(2)

Fitness time cut

Too many extra assignments and tutorials have also hampered students' physical development as children have little time left over for outdoor fitness activities.

Xing Wenhua, a professor at Beijing Sport University who has participated in the national physical survey for years, said Chinese students' fitness levels have been dropping since 1995, partially due to too much schoolwork.

"Part of reason for students' heavy burden comes from their parents," said Ren Yang, vice-president of Beijing Xicheng District Education Commission. "Parents tend to develop their children's potential in math, English and other specialties at a very young age. When students finish school, they will have other courses waiting. The key is to increase society's awareness, and not just cancel exams or homework."

Easing academic pressure could benefit children's health and give them more time to play, but some parents said homework is necessary.

Lu Qian, mother of third-grader Liu Hao, said written homework is necessary for her son.

"If he has no homework to do, how could he review the knowledge learned at school and how could he handle the pressure when he enters middle school and high school?"

Primary school teachers echoed Lu's comments.

"Burdens can be eased at primary schools but they will be added immediately at high schools with the college entrance examination looming," said Meng Wei, a teacher at Beijing Lei Feng Primary School.

"Students won't get used to it if they have no assignments at a young age. The original intention of the draft is positive, but the no-homework part is harder to accept."

Zhu Yonghong, a teacher at the Primary School Affiliated to Rugao Normal University in Jiangsu province, said the cancellation of exams at lower grades is also unacceptable.

"Tests are still the only effective way to examine a student's academic level ... It also works well as a motivator for them."

Other provisions of the draft regulation also include an end to junior high school enrollment exams and a ban on grouping students according to exam scores.

The draft regulation will continue to gather public opinion through Aug 29.

Ministry announces student database

A national student information database will be implemented in September for smoother school transfers and more efficient student administration, the Ministry of Education revealed on Thursday.

Schools and local education authorities began in 2010 to build the database, which contains the personal data of 35 million primary and middle school students from eight provinces and municipalities. Another 14 areas are currently collecting information.

Each student will be assigned a permanent and unique ID number, which contains a profile of basic information, education history, previous assessment results and specialties in sports and arts.

The information, collected and updated at the schools, won't be allowed to be modified once it is confirmed and entered into the database.

According to Luo Fangshu, deputy director of the ministry's Education Management Information Center, the database will integrate the information of more than 180 million elementary and secondary school students nationwide for the first time.

"It will help the education authority better administer student archives, while making the school transfer process a smooth one, especially for migrant workers' children," Luo said.

With the development of urbanization, more and more children have moved with their parents to major cities, meeting issues with school enrollment.

Without a unified database, transferring their information to a new school has often been a complicated procedure.

"Once the system comes into operation, the school transfer could be done online, which can save a lot of time and energy," said Du Kewei, deputy director of the ministry's elementary education department.

According to Luo, an online school transfer service has been tested in Guizhou, where the provincial database was built in March, and around 130,000 students were transferred successfully and efficiently.