District Governance: Scheme Helps Ease Parental Pressure

One of the many challenges parents face is supporting their children with homework.

One of those parents is mother of three, Mrs Chan.

Except her eldest son who is now in secondary school, she has to take care of her daughter and youngest son who are in primary school, with their homework. Keen to rejoin the labour market to ease the family's financial burden, she found support from the School-based After School Care Service Scheme.

Targeted support

The Government is committed to enhancing the efficacy of district governance, including boosting support for parents, with the goal of strengthening people’s sense of fulfilment.

In the 2023-24 school year, it launched the School-based After School Care Service Scheme under the Community Care Fund. The scheme allows students in need to stay after class for extra care and learning support.

Following an overwhelming response, the Government launched a one-year extension of the scheme in the 2024-25 school year, covering over 110 primary schools in 18 districts and benefiting more than 5,000 students.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council is among the non-governmental organisations responsible for operating the care service. Under the expanded scheme, it provides over 650 service places in 19 primary schools.

Classroom guidance

Mrs Chan's daughter, Beryl, is a primary 4 student at Sheng Kung Hui Holy Cross Primary School, which has joined in the scheme. She admitted struggling to turn in her homework and making a lot of mistakes as her English skills were not strong enough.

“Before joining this scheme, I had to stay up late at night to wait for my dad to come home and help me with such homework.”

She is now able to complete her homework under the guidance of instructors every day before going home, which also gives her more time to study at night. Mrs Chan noticed her daughter's grades improving, which in turn helped their personal relationship as there is no more conflict over homework.

While the children enjoyed their time in school after class, Mrs Chan was able to secure a job, which was of great help to the family.

Positive feedback

In addition to arranging homework tutorials for students, the scheme also provides a variety of games and extracurricular activities for students.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Chief Executive Officer Patricia Lau said that participating schools have been very supportive of the scheme, as it not only helps improve students’ physical and mental health, but alleviates the pressure on parents.

“Schools appreciated that the scheme can indeed alleviate the stress of needy families, allowing parents to find a job and eventually improve the financial burden of the household.”

She also pointed out that over 90% of the council’s target beneficiaries are from low-income families, amongst which, about 20% are from single-parent families and 30% require special education needs.  

According to a questionnaire distributed by the council, parents appreciate the scheme’s effectiveness and some of them have been able to find a job after joining the scheme.