Off-campus training institutions: where is the road to transformation

Students from the roller skating club are training in the third elementary school affiliated to Hefei Normal University in Anhui.

Xinhua News Agency

Students from Wuchang Fruit Lake No. 1 Primary School in Hubei show their paintings.

Xinhua News Agency

【News Investigation·Follow Students' Double Burden Reduction 9】

Another new semester has arrived. With the introduction of the "double reduction" policy, the pace of primary and secondary school students rushing between home, school, and training classes has begun to change.

In recent years, off-campus subject training has been like a strong wave, involving many families.

Regardless of the child's performance, parents are always anxious or helpless, "carrying" their children to the training class, and "introduction" has gradually become the norm in the education field.

Behind the “standard equipment” of many elementary and middle school students is the “barbaric growth” of the education and training industry, the children who are tightly bound and the parents whose anxiety is escalating.

The "double reduction" opinions set strict regulations on the operation of off-campus training institutions, and a series of supporting measures were subsequently introduced.

Where to go for off-campus training institutions has become a hot topic of concern.

1. "Training classes for every family" is becoming a thing of the past

　　In the message area of ​​an online article on a topic related to an off-campus training institution, a netizen named "Shanshui Meets" sighed: "The training class of the world has been suffering for a long time!"

　　Yao Ting's daughter is in the second grade of junior high school in Xicheng District, Beijing.

Recalling her daughter’s extracurricular training these years, Yao Ting said: “It’s really a bitter tears, I can’t bear to look back.” She calculated an account for the reporter: When the child was in elementary school, language, mathematics, and English were added to a musical instrument. , One class each week, the training fee for one month is about 5,000 yuan.

When you arrive in junior high school, you have to apply for physics, chemistry and other subjects. The tuition fee for one-to-many courses is 450 yuan per session, and for one-to-one courses is 900 yuan per session.

"Every time you sign up for a class, you have to pay 30,000 to 50,000 yuan at a time, and we also pay the money through our teeth!" Yao Ting said.

　　How effective is the training course?

The over-commercialized subject training "rolled" away students' extracurricular time and opportunities for all-round development. It also "rolled away" parents' money, and "rolled up" them more and more anxiety.

From the perspective of student growth, the effect is very limited.

　　Wang Wenzhan, the former director of the Department of Basic Education of the Ministry of Education, mentioned in a speech that he taught postgraduate mathematics at Tsinghua University, but he couldn't do some of the Mathematical Mathematical questions in elementary school for Sun Tzu.

Wang Wenzhan said: "It's not mathematics, it's a technique, just like conjure."

　　Gao Wei, a parent of students in Chaoyang District, Beijing, has two children who are in elementary school. Summarizing the experience of making up lessons over the years, he believes that the "magic weapons" for children to "win" in training classes are nothing more than two: one is to let children get ahead of school, Super-paced learning; the second is to let children learn "routines" and repeat the training a lot.

　　In the short term, "routines" can allow children with average grades to find a "shortcut" to improve their grades, but in the long run, children may lose interest and motivation in learning.

　　The deeper problem of off-campus subject training is that over-commercialized subject training will cause the education resources of the whole society to lose fairness under the temptation of money.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, believes that the logic of the operation of commercial education and training institutions conflicts with the logic of human growth and development, which hinders the healthy growth of humans and exacerbates the trend of gradual solidification of social classes.

It is imperative to standardize off-campus training institutions.

　　When the “double reduction” opinion was introduced, and the scene of “everyone attending training classes” was becoming a thing of the past, Yao Ting expressed his agreement with both hands: “This is great! Looking back now, many off-campus training is a waste of money and time. It also destroys the parent-child relationship. We didn’t come here when we were young. Didn’t we do well in the exam?”

2. Suspension of classes and refunds, an industry is turning collectively

　　Many training institutions gather on the third floor of Chongwenmen Xinhuoguan, Dongcheng District, Beijing.

One working day, the reporter saw that training institutions such as piano, dance, calligraphy, and robot programming were all operating normally, and the staff at the door enthusiastically introduced courses to customers.

The door of a nearby English training institution was closed.

　　Not long ago, the huge team of parents sitting outside the store of this English training institution used to be a sight here.

　　The reporter knocked on the door of this store to understand the situation. The staff informed that the store stopped training on the day the "double reduction" policy was announced. At present, more than 400 trainees have been refunded, and many of the company's stores are already preparing. Transition to quality education and training.

　　The "Double Reduction" opinion requires that "adhere to strict governance and comprehensively regulate off-campus training behavior", and the rectification of off-campus training institutions has never been greater.

　　Weekends, holidays, winter and summer vacations were originally the main periods of off-campus training.

The "Double Reduction" opinion clearly states: "Off-campus training institutions shall not occupy national statutory holidays, rest days, and winter and summer vacations to organize subject training."

　　The announcement of the "double reduction" opinion coincided with the summer vacation, and off-campus training institutions around the country announced the suspension of summer subject training during the compulsory education phase.

　　Subsequently, some pilot areas have successively promulgated the implementation rules for the implementation of the "double reduction" opinions, strictly controlling the subject training within a reasonable space.

　　For example, Beijing’s “double reduction” measures stipulate: strictly control the training time of disciplines, the end time of offline training shall not be later than 20:30, and the end time of online training shall not be later than 21:00.

At present, only the prescribed time period from Monday to Friday can be used for subject training, and the purpose of training has changed from “cultivating excellence” to “replenishing the difference” in the past.

　　Recently, various districts in Beijing are publishing the "white list" of off-campus training institutions in batches. Only off-campus training institutions in the "white list" can conduct subject training within the specified time period.

　　"Double reduction" opinions stipulate a number of "prohibited" matters-"It is strictly forbidden to exceed the standard and advance training, and it is strictly prohibited for non-disciplinary training institutions to engage in subject training."

　　The "Double Reduction" opinion also stipulates: "Disciplinary training institutions must not be listed for financing, and capitalized operations are strictly prohibited; listed companies are not allowed to invest in discipline training institutions through stock market financing..."

　　The capital market responded quickly.

Some capital quickly receded, and many organizations began to adjust their personnel.

　　In recent years, the off-campus training industry, which has rushed towards commercial operations, has finally slowed down and turned to seek new outlets.

3. Adjust the training direction, there is a way out for transformation

　　The direction is clear, and industry transformation is imperative.

　　Chu Zhaohui believes that shifting from "collecting points around the subject" to providing effective services based on the real needs of students' growth and development is the general trend and the key to the transformation of training institutions.

　　After the announcement of the "double reduction" opinions, dozens of education and training institutions all issued statements stating that they would actively implement the spirit of the "double reduction" opinions and actively respond to the call of the country.

They began to explore the path of transformation and development, or set up a quality growth center to focus on the development requirements of the five education goals of students' morality, intelligence, physical education, and labor; , Expanding the field of adult education.

　　A recent survey conducted by Guangming Daily on "Will parents enroll their children for training courses after the'double reduction'" showed that more than 80% of the netizens who participated in the survey were willing to report their children for non-profits such as music, sports, and art. Subject-based quality education training courses.

　　In the Hesheng Plaza, Fengtai District, Beijing, the reporter saw that training classes for children's physical fitness, roller skating, martial arts, table tennis, boxing, etc. are all very popular.

The parent Zhang Weigang enrolled his son in a boxing training class. He said: "Children, it is necessary to engage in sports."

　　In addition to the shift to quality education, adult vocational education is also a hot track for the transformation of off-campus training institutions.

Adult vocational education conforms to the direction of national policies and has a large number of social needs.

Recently, a well-known education group launched a new version of its App, covering various vocational education such as adult language training, college student examinations, finance and public examinations.

　　Too much emotion is too late, the transformation is already on the way.

Zhang Jing, who has been engaged in off-campus training for many years, said that many training institutions are actively looking for a way out. School-enterprise cooperation, camp education, adult education, smart hardware, educational technology, etc. may become the future development trend of off-campus training institutions.

　　Zhang Jing told reporters: "For a practitioner like me who has accumulated many years of teaching experience, in the future, to cultivate his own popularity on the Internet, becoming an Internet celebrity and becoming a personal IP may also be an option."

　　In a recent speech, Wang Wenzhan pointed out: "The state encourages the strengthening of language and training in calligraphy, reading, ancient poems, and speeches. There has been great development in the fields of science and technology, information technology, computers, programming, artificial intelligence, music, and fine arts. "

　　The prospects for transformation are broad, but some people have raised their concerns.

A staff member of Yuandao Guidance said that the training thinking of some institutions and teachers has been solidified, and it is very difficult to transform to quality education; whether parents will pay for quality education courses, it also involves many issues such as the adjustment of the education evaluation system and the change of ideas .

　　There are also many practitioners in discipline training institutions worried about future employment issues.

In response to this, the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Departments have already started to deploy comprehensive employment services for personnel from off-campus training institutions in disciplines.

At present, sufficient job resources have been reserved for the staff of training institutions that need to be transferred. The relevant social and corporate organizations will also prioritize a batch of high-quality job information with high salaries and good benefits, so as to promote the effective connection between supply and demand.

　　Transformation cannot be accomplished overnight, but as a whole, social development has entered a new era, and the demand for talents has also undergone great changes.

Creative, diversified, and personalized talents will have advantages in the future. "The development of the education industry will eventually need to adapt to the direction of society." Chu Zhaohui said.

(Some interviewees in the text are pseudonyms)

(Our reporter Shang Wenchao)