Hong Kong’s school students and teachers are suffering from emotional problems over anti-government protests, survey finds

42 per cent of 168 schools surveyed reported protest-related emotional problems among students, while 25 per cent said teachers were also suffering

Protests activities – such as human chains or class boycotts – organised on campus were responsible for deteriorating school ambience, expert says

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The survey by the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers finds protest activities organised on campus were often responsible for deteriorating school ambience. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:07pm, 19 Sep 2019Updated: 11:07pm, 19 Sep 2019

More than 40 per cent of the schools polled in a survey reported emotional problems among students caused by the ongoing anti-government protests, while a quarter of them spotted similar issues among teachers.

In eight per cent of the 66 primary and 102 secondary schools surveyed, students asked their teachers to state their stance on the ongoing protests that sparked with the withdrawn extradition bill. Some six per cent schools also reported bullying among students over the issue.

Responding to the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers’ survey, 42 per cent of the 168 schools reported protest-related emotional problems among students, while 25 per cent said teachers were also facing similar issues.

“Some students have experienced very big shocks to their emotions by what was happening in society,” Wong Kam Leung, the federation chairman, said on Thursday.

He added some students were also experiencing nightmares and were finding it difficult to concentrate on their studies.

Many students are experiencing nightmares and are finding it difficult to concentrate on their studies in the wake of the anti-government protests. Photo: Reuters