Summer holiday daycare key for working parents
Print Edition
This summer vacation, Guo Qile, a third-grader in Shanghai, attended classes almost every day. Despite this, Guo enjoyed it a lot.
鈥淭he teachers are so nice, and I have many friends here to play with. I鈥檓 having so much fun!鈥 Guo said.
What Guo attends is actually a daycare program initiated by a local community. In Shanghai, these programs are offered in the entire city this summer vacation.
In 2021, with the support of the Chinese government, summer vacation daycare is booming. Many students went back to school during this summer vacation 鈥 not for regular classes but for activities such as watching films, group games, and painting.
Summer vacation daycare, a new option for busy parents, became a trend this year after Chinese education authorities mobilized to offer more choices for school-age students during their summer vacation.
In early July, the Ministry of Education issued a notice asking local authorities to encourage qualified schools to provide these childcare services.
Solid progress was made in many places, including Shanghai, for example. From July 5 to August 13, 543 daycare programs were set up across the city, benefitting nearly 40,000 students. Among the programs, 407 were held on school campuses.
Similar programs have been in place for years in many areas with encouragement from local education departments.
Since 2017, the Jiyang District of Sanya, south China鈥檚 Hainan Province, has set up public welfare summer childcare courses. The courses have been well received by parents, many of whom are migrant workers with no time to look after their children, said an official with the district鈥檚 education bureau.
鈥淪mall children aren鈥檛 able to look after themselves, and we parents find it unnerving to leave them alone at home,鈥 said Li Yan, from Shandong Province. For Li daycare programs provided by schools are a great solution.
To meet the needs of more parents, the scale of the childcare program in the Jiyang District has expanded year by year, with the number of students participating increasing from 600 in the first year to more than 2,600 this year.
The country鈥檚 education authorities have stipulated that daycare programs ought to be, in their nature, a public service that doesn鈥檛 create financial burdens for parents. Organizers across the country have strictly adhered to this principle.
In Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, a summer vacation daycare service is provided for 50 yuan (US$7.70) per day. Students from families with financial difficulties can attend for free. With daycare programs gaining popularity, organizers are pooling efforts to boost quality.
In Shanghai this summer, more than 12,000 college student volunteers were recruited, and each of them attends to no more than five children.
There is still room for improvement.
鈥淥rganizers should be familiar with the traits of students at different ages and understand what they need most,鈥 said Yao Zongling, the headmaster of a middle school in Tai鈥檃n, Shandong Province.
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