Competition for limited spots in various summer classes has led some parents to wait outside overnight in front of schools to ensure a place for their child.

 

Training schools said they added more classes this year, but the supply is still inadequate to satisfy demand.

 

At Shanghai Youth Activity Center, teachers said most of their summer training courses were full one or two days after applications started last month.

 

"Considering the situation in previous years, we have already opened about one-third more programs this year. But competition is still fierce," said one of the center's registration teachers surnamed Fei.

 

He added some parents came to the center as early as 5 AM to apply for courses such as student reporter training, music class, dancing and foreign languages.

 

Earlier reports by Youth Daily said that many parents took stools and blankets to wait overnight in front of the center's Luwan branch to get their child a spot in a writing class.

 

Shanghai Children's Palace, another popular training institute, said that the more than 2,000-seat summer camp had been booked up two months before the program started.

 

"Even today, we still keep receiving calls from anxious parents," Dong Lei, a palace official, told Shanghai Daily yesterday. Dong added many parents insisted on leaving details in case another child dropped out.

 

While many teachers are astonished by the enthusiasm, parents said they were just preventing children from being lazy during the vacation.

 

"Competition is so fierce, I want my son to make good use of the two months and learn something," said Yang Jing, who has a 12-year-old boy.

 

Cao Zifang, professor at Shanghai Normal University, said that parents should also consider their children's interests. It's of no use to simply burden children with too much pressure, the professor said.

 

(Shanghai Daily July 4, 2007)