School's in for summer as day care classes blossom

This summer vacation, Guo Qile, a third grader in Shanghai, attended classes almost every day. Despite this, Qile enjoyed it a lot.

"The teachers are so nice, and I have many friends here to play with. I'm having so much fun!" Qile says.

What Qile attends is actually a day care program initiated by a local community. In Shanghai, these programs are being offered across the city this summer vacation.

In 2021, with the support of the government, many students went back to school during summer vacation－not for regular classes but for activities such as watching films, group games and painting.

Summer vacation day care, a new option for busy parents, became a trend this year after central education authorities mobilized to offer more choices for school-age students during the seasonal break.

In early July, the Ministry of Education issued a notice asking local authorities to encourage qualified schools to provide these child care services.

Solid progress was made in many places, including Shanghai, for example. From July 5 to Aug 13, 543 day care programs were set up across the city, benefiting 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, Hainan province, has set up public welfare summer child care courses. The courses have been well received by parents, many of whom are migrant workers with no time to look after their children, says an official with the district's education bureau.

"Small children aren't able to look after themselves, and as a parent, it is unnerving to leave them at home alone," says Li Yan from Shandong province.

From Li's perspective, day care programs provided by schools are a great solution.