Parents and principals in a southwest China city have expressed doubts and concerns about a new rule that sets maximum school hours for hard-pressed primary and middle school pupils.

Primary school children have been set a maximum six-hour school day, and the time limits for junior middle school students are seven hours and for senior middle school students eight hours, according to the rule in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province.

"The rule appears good, as it sets school hour limits, forbids prolonging of classes and extra classes," said 45-year-old Chen Zhaosheng, whose daughter is a middle school student in the city.

"But I have some doubts as to whether it can be put into practice, as teachers and students now only focus on exams," he said.

Guiyang is not the first to set the maximum school hours in the country. In accordance with a regulation issued in 1994 by China's education authorities asking schools to ease children's study burdens, cities such as Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Wuhan have promulgated similar rules.

In urban primary schools, children commonly stay at school after class, studying until their parents pick them up. Many middle school students stay in school doing homework assigned by teachers.

"My son is addicted to Internet bars. I cannot imagine what will happen when he is completely left alone as the school will ask him to go home earlier than before," said Lin Zhigang, 41, whose son is in middle school.

Like Chen and Lin, many parents hold a wait-and-see attitude toward the new rule, which will come into force in the new spring semester.  But some principals agree with the rule.

"I totally support the rule, which has led to the cancellation of morning self-study classes, allowing students more sleep at home," said Ci Zhaoming, vice-president of the No. 21 Middle School.

The stipulations of less homework hours were also good as they gave students more free time.

Chinese middle school students are often compelled to sacrifice spare time for homework in the face of fierce competition in college entrance exams, regarded by parents the best opportunity for a successful future.

According to the Ministry of Education, universities and colleges nationwide enrolled 5.3 million students last year from more than 9.5 million who sat the collage entrance exams -- a failure rate of almost half.

To ensure their children's success, pushy Chinese parents and teachers put heavy pressure on children to spend more time studying.

A survey by the China Youth and Children Research Center showed 88 percent of the primary school parents and 50 percent middle school parents assigned extra homework to their children.

A survey by the Ministry of Education in 2004 showed that 30 percent of primary school children and 60 percent of middle school pupils suffered myopia, or short-sightedness, commonly attributed to too much study.

"The purpose of the rule is to ease the burden on students, but the problem lies in the exam-oriented education in which high marks, to a great degree, mean excellence and more chance to enter college," said Ci.

"Of course I want my child to relax from study," said parent Chen. "But I have to be responsible for her future as the pressure for entrance into higher schools or colleges is always there."

He planned to find a tutor to help with his daughter's classes during her summer holidays this year.

(China Daily January 18, 2007)