Summer camps abroad involve many details, such as visas, safety, cultural habits and so on. I'm afraid it's hard to do it only by relying on the strength of primary and secondary schools. If we strengthen the alliance between schools and social institutions, it will increase the feasibility.
"There is no rule that primary and secondary schools are not allowed to hold summer camps abroad, but when schools really want to take their children out, they can't do it. Social institutions can be run, but primary and secondary schools are tied up. " Speaking of summer camp abroad, Zhang, the principal of the affiliated school of Shanghai Jing 'an Institute of Education, felt very depressed.
The international exhibition of Shanghai Education Expo was held a few days ago, attracting many universities, district and county education departments, foreign children's schools, study abroad agencies and so on. The reporter found at the scene that many summer camp projects launched by study abroad agents are very popular with parents, and some projects even register for more than half; Some principals of public primary and secondary schools have revealed that they have no plans to organize summer camps abroad this year due to too many restrictions.
Do you want to support primary and secondary schools to hold summer camps abroad? Why is it difficult for public primary and secondary schools to go out? How to standardize social organizations to hold summer camps abroad? How to make primary and secondary school students enjoy safe and affordable study tour services? The reporter conducted an interview on this.
Is it appropriate for primary and secondary schools to organize summer camps abroad?
During the summer vacation of 20 13, the affiliated school of Shanghai Jing' an Institute of Education did not take students abroad to participate in the summer camp. 20 14, the school does not intend to organize. Zhang said that a few years ago, the school would take children out to open their eyes, but not these two years. Relevant policies have strict regulations on this, but they can't get out. The school simply gave up the idea.
It is natural for primary and secondary schools to organize students to attend summer camps abroad, so who will pay for the teachers with the group? Zhang said: "In the past, parents of students could bear the cost of leading teachers. For example, 500 yuan or 1 000 yuan out of the 20,000 yuan tour fee was spent on teachers, and parents agreed to do so, but it is not feasible now. We are a public school, and if children are asked to pay the teacher's fees, they will be accused of charging fees. If reported by individual parents, the school will be punished. "Indeed, some people think that teachers' travel expenses and related management expenses should not be shared equally with students, let alone become hidden welfare and disguised tourism, when public funds cannot fully cover the cost of teachers' and students' study tours. Yao, president of the experimental middle school affiliated to Xiamen University, suggested that the school should adhere to the education standard and can carry out study tour activities, but don't make a profit and don't set foot in the "market" of study tour.
"Organizing summer camps abroad, leading teachers should be responsible for the affairs of children's size, not only at the expense of holiday time, but also at the expense of going abroad. Where does the enthusiasm of teachers come from? If the school pays the fees, as a public school, new problems come again: first, where does the funds come from; Second, if the school reimburses the expenses, it has to go abroad for business. The approval procedures before and after this are quite complicated. Finally, the school had to give up organizing summer camps abroad. " Zhang said to him.
The reporter learned about the situation from several schools in Jinshan District and Huangpu District of Shanghai, and all of them answered that there is no plan to hold a summer camp abroad this year.
The reporter's investigation also found that even if some schools are organizing summer camps abroad, they are doing it privately, claiming that it has nothing to do with the school.
20 12 In April, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Tourism Administration jointly issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Primary and Secondary School Students Going Abroad to Participate in Summer (Winter) Camp and Other Related Activities. The notice put forward: "The organizers of organizing primary and secondary school students to go abroad to participate in summer (winter) camp and other related activities should be foreign education exchange institutions affiliated to primary and secondary schools and education administrative departments or organizations such as the Communist Youth League, Young Pioneers and Women's Federation, and can entrust travel agencies licensed by the National Tourism Administration to undertake outbound tourism business." It is not difficult to find that the four departments clearly agreed that primary and secondary schools should organize summer camps abroad and take this as the first recommendation.
Yan 'an Middle School in Shanghai once invited a professor from East China Normal University to give a lecture on Arctic science, and this professor was qualified to take students to the North Pole. Due to policy restrictions, the school can't organize, so students have to sign up. Originally, a dozen students were interested, but at first glance, it was not a school, only a few people went, and such a good opportunity to study abroad was not fully utilized. Principal Guo Xiong feels very sorry for this.
"The central and local governments have proposed to vigorously promote internationalization in the outline of education-related documents. However, at the practical level, such as organizing summer camps abroad, there are many obstacles restricting the development of international exchange activities. This is really a paradox. " Guo Xiong said helplessly.
The agent for studying abroad is expensive, but the delegation is smooth.
On the one hand, primary and secondary schools want to organize summer camps abroad, but they can't get out. On the other hand, social institutions studying abroad seize this market opportunity and design summer camps abroad. Although the fees are high, they are still welcomed by students and parents.
Zhang analyzed that in a big city like Shanghai, people's living standards are generally high, and parents also have diversified needs for the types of education their children receive. He said: "Many parents spend tens of thousands of dollars to let their children go out to have a look, which is worthwhile and affordable." However, if primary and secondary schools fail, they give opportunities to social institutions. "
The reporter saw in the exhibition hall of Shanghai Education Expo that many educational institutions are promoting summer camps abroad. Among the social organizations that participated in the Shanghai Education Expo, Sino-Chile study abroad and Sino-Swiss study abroad also launched their own summer camp products. Liu, deputy manager of a study abroad marketing department, said, "The goal of our delegation to participate in the summer camp abroad is to make high-quality products and lead students from 10 to 16 to go to Pebu Danying University in the United States for two or three weeks of study and inspection activities. The cost adds up to about 40 thousand yuan. "
In 2004, the Ministry of Education announced the list of 270 self-funded study agents. Shanghai has 14, and Shanghai is still certified by the Ministry of Education as 16.
If the summer camp abroad can be considered as studying abroad, is it an intermediary agency certified by the Ministry of Education or the provincial education administrative department to conduct the summer camp abroad? At present, it is basically a confused account. Take several study agents interviewed by reporters at the Shanghai Education Expo as an example. Studying in Chile and China and Sweden are on the list of self-funded study abroad agencies recognized by the Ministry of Education, while Liyang Education is not among them, but they can also hold summer camps abroad aboveboard.
For the 20 13 Asiana Airlines accident, the education administrative departments and primary and secondary schools are highly nervous, but the study agents are indifferent. Liu said, "This is not a problem at all. Who can stop natural and man-made disasters? This is not the reason of education itself. Domestic travel can also be risky, so won't you go out? As organizers, what we can do is to try our best to put the children in place from going out to coming back. In the event of an accident, an insurance company will be responsible, but this probability is extremely small and there is no need to waste food. "
Using market mechanism to meet the needs of parents and students going abroad
Why is it difficult for primary and secondary schools to organize summer camps abroad? An education system official who served as the deputy director of the Education Bureau in a certain district of Shanghai told reporters that it is not qualified for primary and secondary schools to organize summer camps abroad. Some schools are organized by family committees, and many relationships have not been straightened out. Once there is a problem, the school and the higher education authorities can't escape, so the Education Bureau doesn't take the initiative.
Xia Huixian, an educational scholar with a working background in government departments, also has a deep understanding of this. From 2008 to 2065438+03, he served as the deputy director of the Education Bureau of Changning District, Shanghai, and is currently the dean of the School of Education of Shanghai Normal University. Xia Huixian said: "The district education administrative department will not do such a thing as going abroad for summer camps. The root cause is that it does not belong to the basic public education services that the government should provide. "
Safety is an important issue considered by the administrative department of education. Xia Huixian said: "Primary and secondary schools come forward to hold summer camps, and the competent department behind them is the district and county education bureaus. Going abroad with a group of underage children, in case of safety problems, the first thing parents should look for is not the school leaders, but the education administrative departments of the districts and counties. "
Cultivating the market and strengthening industry self-discipline is a direction for the development of summer camps abroad.
Xia Huixian believes that it is necessary to actively guide and cultivate the summer camp market abroad and meet the needs of parents and principals for their children to go abroad through market mechanisms. As long as the intermediary institutions for studying abroad act within the framework of laws and regulations, they can be allowed to exist. He suggested that industry associations (societies) such as educational international exchange organizations can come forward to formulate norms or standards for summer camps abroad and standardize summer camp activities abroad.
International exchange office, a person in charge of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, said that the documents of the Ministry of Education and other four departments gave a kind of guidance, but there was a fatal problem: if some social organizations did not follow the requirements, there would be no sanctions. At present, the foreign summer camp market is still in a spontaneous and even chaotic state.
"Non-certification institutions are also doing summer camps for primary and secondary schools abroad, which may not be illegal and government departments will not deal with it." The person in charge said. He pointed out that the current laws and regulations have lagged behind the specific practice of foreign summer camps and need more clear regulations and guidance.
In view of the doubts of local education administrative departments about the ability of schools to organize summer camps abroad, experts suggest that primary and secondary schools can borrow the power of travel agencies and study abroad agents. Zhu Li, director of the planning and adjustment of the tourism department of Shanghai Shanghai Foreign Travel Service Company, believes that the summer camp abroad involves many details such as visas, safety and cultural habits. I'm afraid it's hard to be competent by the strength of primary and secondary school teachers alone. If we strengthen the alliance between schools and social institutions, it will increase reliability.
Some principals of primary and secondary schools who are interested in international exchanges have called for relaxing summer camps in primary and secondary schools. They should not ban them for fear of safety, nor should they ban this effective form of education because of minor problems such as the cost of accompanying teachers. If there is a reliable travel agency or study agent as a guarantee, primary and secondary schools can also become the main body of summer camps abroad, so don't worry too much about safety. As long as the two sides have a clear division of labor and make joint efforts, it is possible to make summer camps abroad achieve a win-win effect in terms of education quality and logistics services.
Developing sister school exchanges is another possible way to go abroad to participate in summer camps. Zhang Yueying, principal of Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School, said, "Our school communicates with sister schools in the United States and Britain every year. As long as students pay a small amount of fees such as air tickets, it is far cheaper than going abroad to participate in social summer camps. Participate in the course study and classroom discussion of local children of the same age to get real learning gains. "