University of Science and Technology parents' event ridiculed for 'babying' students
Mums and dads throng campus as critics take to social media to compare college to kindergarten
More than 3,000 people joined the first parents' day at the University of Science and Technology yesterday amid criticism that the students are clingy and their parents overly protective.
Parents who attended said they found the activity a good way to understand campus life. Not many of them were accompanied by their children.
"[Our son] would probably have found it embarrassing to come with us," said a mother who identified herself only as Mrs Law, and turned up with her husband and elder daughter.
She said her attendance did not mean she was overprotective towards her son, who has just started his first year at the university. "I'm not that worried about him being influenced by bad peers," she said.
"It's time for him to live outside his parent's protection and face the world on his own."
She said she found the parents' day informative. "I know there's nothing much I can offer in the way of help with his studies, but it's always good to get to know more," she said.
Another pair of parents, a Mrs Teng and her husband from Guangzhou, cleared their schedule for a day trip to the campus in Sai Kung, hoping to raise concerns about noise problems in their son's dormitory with the master of the residence.