Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau said the city will not add spring and autumn vacations as long as provincial education department policy remains unchanged.

    According to guidelines recently released by the State Council, primary and middle school students are expected to have two additional vacations in addition to the existing summer and winter vacations.

    Both parents and students had mixed feelings about the spring and autumn vacations. A student surnamed Lin from Futian District said more vacations would help ease the pressure on students. However, another student surnamed Zeng from Bao’an Middle School said: “I want more vacations but I’m afraid my homework will be increased as a result of the extra vacation.”

    Most parents were in favor and said schools should take advantage of the vacations to organize more social activities. However, some parents expressed concerns about the proposal. “Such vacations are available only to children, as a result, many will be left without adults to care for them,” said a parent surnamed Yang from Nanshan District.

    Some school principals thought the additional vacations would have a positive effect. Guo Qijun, principal of Futian High School, said it was reasonable to add a spring vacation starting in February or March, as regular schooling is disrupted when many students who study arts travel across the country for tests.

    But some experts think the additional vacations would be difficult to implement. Xiong Bingqi, a renowned educator, said in his blog that it was more sensible to make good use of the spring and autumn outings than to add more vacations. Writer Wang Jiuxin thinks more vacations will create more business opportunities for after-class training centers and students have less time for rest and recuperation.(Zhao Jie)