Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki visited SKH St Andrew's Primary School in Sham Shui Po this afternoon to learn more about the implementation of the School-based After School Care Service Scheme.

He first received a briefing by the school principal on the needs of students participating in the scheme, including those with special educational needs and those from single-parent families, followed by an introduction by the operator, St James' Settlement, on the services provided so far in the current school year.

Mr Chan also observed students doing homework and revision in the classroom under the guidance of instructors.

During conversations with pupils and parents, he was glad to note that some of the parents had rejoined the labour market in two months.

Mr Chan then played group games with students in the hall and encouraged them to enhance their social skills and relieve academic stress through the activities.

The Chief Secretary pointed out that the current-term Government has adopted the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation by directing resources to those most in need.

The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address sets out the launch of the scheme in the 2023-24 school year to provide targeted support for underprivileged families, especially single-parent families.

Mr Chan said: “I am happy to see that students enrolled in the scheme can finish homework and revision as well as engage in games and extracurricular activities with classmates at school to improve their physical and mental health, and that parents can alleviate the stress of looking after their children so that they can find full-time jobs or part-time ones of a longer duration to improve their living.

“The scheme can also help attract more women to rejoin the labour force to further boost productivity in society.”

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun and Acting Secretary for Education Sze Chun-fai also joined the visit.

The scheme is implemented in primary schools from those districts with more targeted students, including Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long, and is expected to benefit 3,000 pupils.

Under the scheme, venues are provided by schools with funding from the Community Care Fund, while non-governmental organisations operate the service.

The service is run after school until 6pm from Monday to Friday and may be extended to 7pm if school situations permit. A total of six hours of service per day should be provided on Saturday and Sunday.