Hong Kong’s John Lee pledges to expand after-school care for low-income families

Chief Executive John Lee speaks to a pupil during a school visit.

Photo: Handout Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has promised to allow more children from low-income families to enjoy after-school care on campus by further expanding a government scheme following positive feedback from participants.

Social workers and educators welcomed the initiative on Saturday, proposing the government widen the scheme’s coverage to include more pupils and encourage more schools to join through subsidies.

The scheme, launched as part of a government’s targeted measures to tackle poverty, has helped promote family harmony, while schoolchildren also reported improvements in both academic performance and social life, according to Lee. “In supporting the grass roots, my administration has consistently launched various targeted poverty alleviation projects … to channel resources to those most in need,” Lee said on his Facebook post on Saturday after a school visit ahead of the Easter holiday. “The School-based After-School Care Service Scheme is one such example …

I will work with my governance team to explore further expanding the programme to fully utilise resources and benefit more families.” He did not give further details or a time frame.

Under the scheme, primary school pupils from underprivileged families can stay on campus to enjoy after-class activities for free.

Welfare groups are invited to operate care services and tutorial support on campus.

The aim of the scheme is to ease the burden of parents who may need to go to work or attend to other household duties.

Launched in September 2023 with more than 3,000 places in 59 schools across seven districts, the scheme has since expanded, offering some 5,900 places in 126 schools across 18 districts in the 2024-25 academic year.

In his 2025 policy address, Lee announced the removal of the cap on the number of places to be offered in the 2025-26 school year.

As of last month, more than 200 primary schools had signed up for the scheme, offering a total of 10,500 places in various districts of the city.

John Lee has said after a recent primary school visit that the government will expand an after-school care programme.

Photo: Handout Accompanied by his labour and education ministers, Lee visited one of the participating schools in Kowloon City last week to gauge views from parents and pupils about the scheme. “Many parents told me that they previously had to work part-time due to childcare responsibilities.

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