Chinese elementary school forces students to work in the fields of farming and repairing household appliances

From September, students will be required to attend at least one such class per week. In these “labor” lessons, children will practice cooking, fixing household appliances, raising pets, and growing vegetables.

As in the “Cooking and Nutrition” class, students will learn basic skills such as cutting vegetables and using knives. Middle school students learn how to prepare different dishes.

China’s education system has long been criticized for focusing too much on exams and neglecting life and work skills.

The introduction of labor courses is the latest attempt by the Chinese government to dispel this stereotype and equip students with real life skills.

From this month, high school students must attend vocational classes to gain more experience.

The announcement of labor courses attracted attention from Chinese public opinion.

Many are in favor of this change, but some have expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the course. “I don’t think teachers can guarantee students in cases where they use fire or electricity,” he said. one Weibo account said.

Xu Yeqian, a mother from Guangdong, said her child’s school used to include cooking courses in the extracurricular program.

But her child learns almost nothing from these classes. In the end, she had to cook and arrange for her children by herself at the request of the teacher.

“I don’t think there will be any fundamental changes as academic grades will still be the most important in the current assessment system”Xu said.