With her eyes always feeling tired, 16-year-old Sun Run went to the hospital with her parents in January. She was shocked when she found out that her eyesight (视力) dropped from 5.0 to 4.6 in only 5 months. "A few of my friends have had the same experience lately," Sun said.
In fact, poor eyesight among Chinese primary and middle school students rose from 59.2 percent to 70.6 percent in the first six months of 2020, according to the Ministry of Education (教育部).
To protect students' eyesight, the Chinese government has worked out new requirements (要求) for schools. For example, according to the requirements, the size of text in students' textbooks should be no smaller than nine-point (小五号). Teachers should also avoid (避免) using projectors (投影仪) or other multimedia equipment (多媒体设备) that are too bright, Beijing Dailyreported. There are also requirements for desk and classroom lights. For example, these lights should give off as little blue light as possible. Blue light is bad for our eyes, as it can kill the photoreceptor cells (感光细胞) we need, according to Harvard Medical School. Many of the electronic devices (电子设备) we use every day, including our phones and computer screens, give off blue light.
Chinese government has also taken other steps to protect students' eyesight in China. In May 2020, schools were asked to make sure that students have at least two hours of outdoor activities a day.
Chinese government has made great effort to help students to protect their eyesight. As well, students should take good care of their eyes.
a. schools to use textbooks with larger text
b. teachers to avoid using overly bright multimedia equipment
c. schools not to use blue bulbs in classrooms
d. schools to use lights that give off less blue light