A PARENT IN DALIAN, Northeast China's Liaoning province, seriously injured himself when carving a Halloween pumpkin for his three-year-old daughter, who was assigned the task as homework by her kindergarten. Comments:

An increasing number of bizarre assignments for young students in China, to some extent, tell a very different story of the so-called innovative education, because such assignments may blur the boundaries of creative teaching, leading to the abuse of educational power. Teachers and educational authorities who turn a blind eye to parents' complaints may even be remiss in doing their duty. Proper regulations are needed to cover school assignments to be sure that are not way beyond students' capabilities.

China Youth Daily, Oct 28