The Chinese Ministry of Education urged schools and parents to join hands in preventing adolescent internet addiction by issuing a notice to schools and publishing an open letter to parents, calling on both sides to make efforts in preventing juveniles from being addicted to the internet.
Schools should teach students to proactively resist harmful information and illegal practices online, according to the notice.
In addition, schools should push parents who fail to fulfill their duty as guardians, and enhance parent-child communication.
The education authority also stressed the family's role in education. "Family should play its role as the primary 'classroom,' and parents should bear the responsibility as the primary 'teachers' of the children," the notice pointed out.
Li Mingxin, principal of the Beijing Primary School, believes education encompasses far more than academic study, and fostering information literacy is equally important. "Information immunity is an important aspect of information literacy. The former refers to the ability to resist harmful information while using the internet, as well as the ability of resisting various temptations," said Li.
Cheng Sihui, a professor at the College of Education Science of Wuhan University, said primary and middle schools should attach more importance to internet usage education. In the meantime, parents should pay more attention to family education by reducing the time that parents use the internet, and conducting more effective communication with children.
