EAGER TO KNOW: Consumers ask for publicity materials on their rights at a legal consultation in Beijing's Wangfujing Street on March 15, the International Consumer Rights Day (LI WENMING)

Making Stronger Students

Recently, a primary school student in Beijing suggested that the National Outline for Medium- and Long-term Educational Reform and Development, which is receiving public feedback, cover issues related to schools' refusals to organize students' field trips and to provide sports facilities.

These problems have been long neglected. Nowadays, schools have changed plans for outdoor travel on spring outings to activities like indoor games, fearing accidents and injuries. For the same reasons, sports facilities such as horizontal and parallel bars are forbidden.

We are surprised at the new generations' weaknesses in adaptability and self-protection and also their poor creativity. But we also find nowadays schools are depriving students of the opportunities of practicing basic living skills. How can we expect them to grow strong?

If, for the sake of students' safety, schools give up necessary physical training and outdoor activities, they are not only sloughing off the responsibility of offering education for all-round development but will also turn out students incapable of creativity and even self-protection. Therefore, safety education, cautious management and well-planned outdoor activities must be included in the National Outline.

Beijing Times

Time to Change

A recent report on Beijing-based Outlook Weekly magazine said too many people, including floating populations, are now flocking into China's big cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen—and these cities are finding it hard to take the strain.

As big cities are expanding rapidly, it's time for us to move our attention to small and medium-sized cities. After all, the capacity of big cities to increase their loads is limited. If we continue putting pressure on them, it will cause all sorts of unexpected social problems.

Promoting small and medium-sized cities to further develop and strengthen their attraction will not only effectively increase employment but also ease population pressure in those big cities.

Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics show China's urbanization rate is only 44.9 percent, far behind the 78 percent of developed countries. Consequently, development of small and medium-sized cities is both anticipated and happening.

As long as big cities are already too big to grow, it's time for us to change our minds and give priority to the development of small and medium-sized cities, and even towns.

Guangzhou Daily

Expensive Teachers

During the next three years, China will send tens of thousands of primary and middle school principals to European nations, the United States and Japan to learn advanced teaching methodologies, said the Ministry of Education.

Although some students and parents are happy to hear the news, the cost is a big concern. Is it necessary to carry out such an expensive training program? No one can be assured methodologies effective in foreign countries will help Chinese students who have totally different cultural and educational backgrounds. More importantly, China's education input is still short of need.

At present, the detailed schedule and budget for this ambitious program are still unknown. As the program will consume a large amount of money, if there was a prior hearing on it, maybe there won't be so many doubts about its feasibility.

It's right that primary and middle school principals should learn from their foreign counterparts, but there must be supervision of the training program, so as to prevent it from becoming just window dressing.

Beijing Times

Deeds, Not Words

Whenever we come to March 15, the International Consumer Rights Day, manufactures and retailers who provide shoddy goods and services will be particularly condemned. This year is no exception.

A spokesman for the China Consumers' Association (CCA) issued the stern warning that "black-hearted businesses" will be made to pay a heavy price for the bad deeds they have committed.

If the CCA had said nothing on the day, consumers would surely have been even more indignant. But the organization's inability to help consumers safeguard their rights and interests has disappointed a lot of people. A recent survey found that only one third of consumers would turn to the CCA when they had been the victims of bad practices, while more than half of them chose to solve problems by going directly to retailers.

In 2009, consumers complained most about telecom service portfolios, food safety and prepaid loyalty cards. While old problems are still there, new problems are emerging one by one. There is actually a long list of substandard and fake products.

Many problems can be blamed on monopoly. For example, in telecom, property and transportation sectors unfair terms have been imposed on consumers for years. When the anti-monopoly law is helpless, how can we expect individual consumers and the toothless CCA to win the fight against various monopoly activities?

China Youth Daily