BEIJING, July 18 -- Summer camps should allow their student participants to enjoy more relaxing activities instead of continual hard school work, says an article in Nanjing-based Jiangnan Times. An excerpt follows:

    The holidays have just begun, and various summer camp organizers are already scrambling to send fancy advertisements to students in the hope of attracting more of them to their camps.

    But there has been a strange shift in the summer camp market. In order to make camp activities more desirable and meaningful, what were carefree summer holidays have become just like being back at school.

    After a glance at promotional materials, one may be dismayed by the fact that most of them offer English, mathematics and writing classes. The camps use slogans that promise all participants will make great gains in their academic studies.

    But do all of these summer camps deliver on the advertisement pledges? Some students who have attended the camps say they do not like such teaching-oriented "concentration camps."

    Summer camps where students can relax and learn some practical skills are more useful for students' all- round development.

    However notorious these camps have become, there are still quite a large number of students unlucky enough to have their summer holidays ruined by hard work. Most join the camps because their parents force them to.

    Many parents push their children too hard in the pursuit of better marks at school, so they do not let their kids enjoy themselves even during the holidays. Some parents send their children to the remedial-type summer camps for fear their children will be left behind in class.

    To cater for the interests of such parents and to outdo other summer camps, the money-oriented camp organizers will try every means to employ renowned teachers, experts or even celebrities to teach at their camp and add more academic courses to the camp curriculum.

    To rein in the depressing summer camp market, relevant government agencies should take control of these profit-seeking camps. As for parents, they should give their children more freedom to choose which summer camp they go to.

    (Source: China Daily)