Visiting PKU Cheng Paoying... Why was the summer camp repeatedly roast about?, "Young Leaders" Eating Box Lunch Parents | Institution | Summer Camp

It's currently summer vacation, and the summer camp market is booming. Many parents actively sign up for various themed summer camps to bring their children closer to nature, broaden their horizons, and enhance communication. Summer camp products that cost thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan are not worried about sales, and some even go live instantly.

According to a survey conducted by Xinhua Vision reporters, the summer camp market has rapidly expanded, enriching students' summer life and becoming an important platform for quality education. However, at the same time, some summer camps have been denounced by consumers as "queue camps" and "pit baby camps". The consumer experience is poor, and the market needs to be standardized.

Participating in the experience is like opening a blind box, full of hidden consumption routines

The reporter found during the visit that although some summer camp activities may look beautiful, the actual experience is like opening a blind box, far from the service promised by the merchants.

High school student Xiao Dou spent more than 1000 yuan to participate in the military summer camp organized by the school, but did not experience the tense and lively military life he had longed for before. He spent most of the five days queuing up. There are more than 100 students in the entire summer camp, and the organizers have low coordination ability. The time arrangement and project connection have repeatedly fallen off track.

"More than 50 girls crowded into three dormitories, queuing for more than an hour every day to take a shower," said Xiao Dou. When the group went out to visit the memorial hall, it was even more crowded, and there were no professional personnel explaining the entire process. Most of them were queuing and taking photos.

Mr. Le, the parent, selected a "Youth Leader Training Camp" for his child for 7 days and 6 nights, priced at 3080 yuan. To his surprise, the advertisement advertised "20 dishes a day" and "milk and fruit supply", but in reality, most of the meals eaten were boxed meals. After repeated feedback from parents, it was not until the fourth day that the child drank milk.

In addition, the various exciting courses promoted during sales are also nowhere to be found, and daily activities are mostly exercises. Mr. Le regretted it and said, "From the video, the order at the scene was very chaotic. The child didn't learn anything and was sick for two weeks."

Many parents have expressed concerns about the food and hygiene conditions in summer camps. Some children find hair, insects, plastic, etc. in their meals, while others are infected with red eye disease.

The reporter noticed that many popular summer camps for graduate studies in universities on the market have been flooded with water. Only half a day or a few hours of the 5-day itinerary are truly related to universities, and often cannot enter the campus.

High school student Mumu just participated in the summer camp organized by the school for graduate studies. To his disappointment, he didn't see the places he had dreamed of visiting, such as Peking University and the Summer Palace. Mu Mu said, "I stood under the scorching sun for two hours without even entering the door of the Summer Palace, and the organization and school did not provide any explanation. The originally planned five main destinations were also temporarily cancelled."

In the complaints about summer camps, the variety of hidden consumption items is also a key focus. Some parents have reported that some institutions often use cheap prices to attract orders first, and increase fees during activities under the pretext of "buying snacks for children" and "taking exciting photos".

Mr. Le's child's summer camp is like this. The organization suddenly proposed in the later stage of the event that paid users can enjoy photo shooting services, with prices ranging from 799 yuan to 1999 yuan in different levels. Mr. Le and other parents were dissatisfied with this, saying, "I didn't mention it when I entered the camp, and only mentioned it when it was almost over. I feel like there are many tricks involved."

Revealing the hidden rules of internal operations

Industry insiders have reported that with the booming summer camp market, more and more institutions want to quickly get a share of it, promote "water injection" and charge high group fees, while also trying to lower expenses in services to earn maximum profits.

Compared to regular summer tour groups, summer camps focus on educational and organizational resource advantages for student groups. However, industry insiders have revealed that some institutions fabricate teacher education backgrounds and plagiarize exquisite pictures of food and accommodation. "Who would have investigated so thoroughly? Let's get the orders first before proceeding.".

Xiaoyi, a part-time summer camp teacher, said that the courses offered by her part-time institution are completely different from those displayed in advertising brochures, emphasizing promotion over service.

Xiaoyi applied for the position of life teacher, mainly responsible for taking care of children, but was required by the organization to closely monitor and take photos. During the opening ceremony, students were required to stand in the sun for nearly an hour in order to maintain their military posture, taking photos of their meals, training, running, and sleeping from 6am to 10:30pm. They were all doing surface work.

The reporter also found that some summer camps are subcontracted layer by layer, disregarding the student experience and safety by blindly lowering expenses, and using daily necessities repeatedly without cleaning.

Xiaolan, the head of a public welfare organization that cares for left behind children in Changchun City, Jilin Province, originally intended to organize a summer camp for left behind children. Through in-depth contact with the local travel agency, it was learned that the agency is only responsible for organizing tours within the province and then subcontracting to another travel agency in Beijing, and is not responsible for the safety of the child's trip in Beijing. For the sake of student safety, Xiaolan had to give up.

The reporter found that layer by layer subcontracting is a common situation in the summer camp market. Responsible organizations will verify the qualifications, experience, and other aspects of the local agency during subcontracting, and participate in the subsequent itinerary; But there are also many institutions that, in order to make quick money and reduce expenses, casually find a place online to pick up their children and hand them over.

To save money and trouble as much as possible, some merchants resort to various tricks. Xiaoyi reported that her institution will repeatedly use bedding in student dormitories. "After the first batch of students finish using it, the second batch of students will continue to use it without drying it.".

Should raise the entry threshold and strengthen regulatory efforts

The chaos of summer camps has raised concerns among industry insiders. Xue Bingchen, General Manager of Jilin Northeast Asia Railway International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., said that non-standard corporate behavior has damaged the overall image of the summer camp market.

Experts believe that summer camps are a special type of tourism product that concerns the physical and mental safety of young people. They must have higher entry barriers and stronger regulatory measures.

"At present, the threshold for the summer camp market is relatively low, and anyone can run it as long as there are venues, teachers, and customer resources." Xue Bingchen said that summer camps organized by the education system are supervised by the education department, while summer camps organized by travel agencies for study tours are supervised by the cultural tourism department. There are also a large number of summer camps established by outdoor expansion, various associations, and other commercial institutions. There is no clear regulatory body, and there is a vague area of law enforcement and supervision, and the responsibility subject is not clear.

The relevant situation has received attention from relevant departments, and some places are conducting special inspections of the summer camp market. For example, Wuzhou in Guangxi and Xianyang in Shaanxi focus on conducting centralized law enforcement inspections on summer camps for study tours, approving institutional qualifications, understanding fee standards, contract content, and conducting detailed inspections of safety responsibilities. Guangzhou, Guangdong and Meishan, Sichuan have conducted special inspections, joint inspections, and supervision spot checks specifically targeting the safety of the summer camp market.

Xiong Bingqi, President of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, believes that it is necessary to increase special inspections and penalties, seriously investigate and deal with illegal and irregular issues such as false propaganda and the transfer of interests between schools and enterprises, eliminate safety hazards, and regulate market order. He suggested introducing a blacklist system to increase the cost of illegal activities by unscrupulous institutions.

Researcher Chu Chaohui from the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences believes that it is necessary to improve industry standards, refine regulatory responsibilities, and raise entry barriers as soon as possible. Pay attention to the collaborative efforts of the relevant departments, strengthen the comprehensive supervision of the qualifications, prices, services, safety, and other aspects of summer camp market operators, and promote the standardized and orderly growth of the market.

Experts remind parents to strengthen their screening of institutional qualifications and teacher backgrounds when selecting summer camp products for their children. Before signing the contract, carefully inquire about the relevant liability clauses, inquire about food and accommodation arrangements, insurance claims, etc., and enhance awareness of rights protection.