"I TAKE 10 EXTRACURRICULAR training courses each week, yet my exam scores are not so good. Every time I think about this I am full of tears." That's what a grade 5 pupil in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, wrote in a school essay. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The pupil has a schedule that is busier than that of many adults. Extracurricular art lessons on Wednesday, PE lessons on Thursday, reading and math on Friday, English and fencing courses on Saturday, plus Chinese and basketball training on Sunday.

Data show that the market for extracurricular training was more than 800 billion yuan ($120.65 billion) in 2016, with at least 7 million people employed in the industry. Quite a high number of pupils have a greater academic burden from extracurricular training courses than from their own schools.

And many parents are still trying to get more training courses for their children. That's a kind of love and care, because the parents want their children to excel. But by doing so, they are casting their own dreams upon their children.

Too much study and no play makes one dull; that's the lesson educators have learned over the years. It is the nature of children to play every day rather than study. That nature deserves our attention and parents should give their children enough time to relax and play.

Worse, some parents might make their children hate studying by pushing them to attend too many extracurricular classes.

The education department has long been trying to cut the academic burden for pupils. However, extracurricular training agencies have simply taken advantage of this to pile an even greater burden on pupils. It's a situation that deserves our attention.