In some countries young people have little leisure time and are under a lot of pressure to work hard in their studies. What do you think are the causes of this? What solutions can you suggest?

Some young people find themselves with very little leisure time. I believe there are two main causes of

this

situation. The

first

is parental tension and the

second

is competition for academy places. Every parent wants to see his or her child do well in school and go on to have a successful career.

This

means that they exert a load on their children to spend hours each day studying at home. Some even arrange extra tuition for their children. In my own country, it is not uncommon for young people to spend another three hours at small private schools after their usual day at stale school is over. As a consequence, their leisure time is extremely limited and the compulsion on them is considerable. The

second

cause is related to the higher education system. Each year, there are many times more applicants to institution than there are educational institution places. The result of

this

is that only those students with very high grades, manage to obtain a place.

This

contributes to the enforcement on teenagers since they must work long hours to have any chance of success. One solution to the problem is for parents to be made aware of the effects of the stress they put on their children. Schools should inform parents that too much strain can lead to anxiety, stress and depression. They should be shown ways in which they can help their children lead more balanced lives with a reasonable amount of leisure time. Another effective measure would be for the government to invest in the creation of more academy places.

This

could be done by expanding existing universities or by building new ones.

This

would have the effect of easing competition for places, giving teenagers, some of their precious free lime back.