Deputies from the city of Jinhua mull over the 2017 work report of the Zhejiang government. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Deputies from Jinhua city reached a consensus that labor education should be taken seriously at a panel discussion of the first session of the 13th Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress on Jan 26.

"Most of the attendees here must have childhood experiences of helping parents with farm work after school during busy farming seasons," said Fang Qing, principal of Jindong Experimental Primary School. Her statement resonated with deputies from the Jinhua delegation.

Fang believes that labor education plays an important role in developing children's personalities and morals. However, life for children in today's society is very exam-oriented. "Nowadays, parents don't want their children to do housework as they view it as a waste of time," Fang said, "Parents tell their children that studying hard is the only thing that matters."

Most children do not see the value in labor, but can they keep up with the complicated and constantly-changing social environment without life skills? Some deputies from the education sector doubted they could.

The work report of the provincial government stated that the development of education is a government priority and that Zhejiang strives to achieve educational modernization by 2022. Deputies from Jinhua stated that a prosperous future requires intellectuals with a wide range of abilities, and that labor education must be improved to accommodate this.

One government official acknowledged that labor education is neglected, but said that relevant departments are looking for solutions to the problem.

Fang advocated for all children experiencing the joy of labor and forming strong personalities through various forms of work. She submitted a proposal at this year's session to promote the development of practice centers for students.