Value in doubt on expensive courses for children

A growing number of expensive training courses for kids have stirred up fierce debate among experts and residents in Guangdong province.

An education center in Guangzhou's Yuexiu district charges 50,000 yuan ($7,500) a year for a special course that develops "children's future CEO characteristics".

The course asks children between 3 and 12 years old to attend two classes a week. A staff member from the center declined to disclose details about the content of the CEO course.

The fee for the course is equal to the annual income of a migrant worker in Guangdong.

A golf club in Guangzhou's Tianhe district that offers a five-day training course costs 1,000 yuan a day.

A coach said the course teaches kids basic knowledge, standard movements and etiquette.

"Most of the children who attend the course are the second generation of local rich people or the children of senior business executives," said the coach, who did not want to be named.

The high-end training centers usually enjoy brisk business, particularly during the summer holidays.

But Chen Xiaowen, mother of a six-year-old boy, said she will not send her son to such an expensive center, even though she can afford it.

"It is not worth spending such a large sum of money to develop a child's CEO temperament, which is invisible," she said.

According to Ge Xinbin, deputy dean and a professor at the School of Education at South China Normal University, such expensive courses are not bad.

"Children can at least receive physical training via attending golf and equestrian courses," said Ge

"But parents should pay attention to their children's safety and not be fooled by fake advertisements."

Fang Haiguang, assistant professor of education at Capital Normal University, said children's wishes and interests must be respected.

"Kids are not able to evaluate and communicate like their parents, so it is questionable whether they can develop leadership and CEO skills and temperament," Fang said.

Putting too much pressure on children during holidays will affect their healthy development, he said.

Complaints about misleading advertisements for such courses have increased rapidly, with 2,626 such complaints filed with China's Consumers Association in the first six months of this year.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn