Children get free care after school

By Fei Lai  |   2008-10-31  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

PRIMARY school students in Jing'an District are now able to receive after-school care free of charge because of financial support from the district government.

A monthly fee of 12 yuan (US$1.75) for each student has been paid by the local government since the start of the autumn semester to support the schools' after-school care services.

The closing down of after-school care centers two years ago was mainly because of an arbitrary service charge and some schools burdening students with excessive classes and homework.

However, a lack of after-school care facilities has put working parents under pressure, and they have struggled to find chaperones for their kids, who finish classes about 3:30pm.

Officials from the Education Bureau of Jing'an District said the district's 14 primary schools can offer classes on sports, computing, art and academic subjects.

Wang Zhiqiang, vice principal of the Primary School Attached to Shanghai No. 1 Normal School, said the school had set up three categories of after-school classes to take care of students with differing needs, and kids can choose whether to attend.

"Teachers of subsidiary subjects take care of children of all grades whose parents are not able to pick them up after school," Wang said. "Teachers teaching main subjects such as Chinese, mathematics and English provide after-school care to kids with poor performance. Another category is hobby classes, in which students with special skills can further improve themselves."

The free after-school care will last until between 4:30pm and 5:30pm, catering to kids' different demands.

"It's a good way to help parents solve the big problem of leaving their kids alone after school," said Chu Juhong, the mother of an eighth-grader. "It also relieves the financial burden on the schools."