Covid’s lost years: Hong Kong children bear the cost of missing school, as more are diagnosed with learning problems

Through multiple rounds of school closures, children fell back on speech and other education milestones

Preschool children who missed out on ‘golden years’ of learning end up ill-prepared for Primary One

Reading Time:7 minutes

Published: 10:00am, 27 Feb 2023Updated: 2:00pm, 14 Mar 2023

Hong Kong housewife Shirley Tsui is convinced the Covid-19 pandemic cost her six-year-old daughter dearly in terms of missing out on school and getting help early for her learning disabilities.

Prolonged bouts of school suspensions since 2020 meant the girl attended kindergarten in person for only half of the three years she should have been there.

The problems surfaced when she was in K2.

“She had emotional problems and she once locked herself in the washroom and her teacher had to call me for help,” recalled Tsui, who is in her 30s.

Children at a primary school in Tin Shui Wai enjoy much-needed time outdoors together. Photo: Jelly Tse

Her only child was diagnosed as having learning impairment, dyslexia, emotional problems and speech delays, and needed preschool help to catch up with the appropriate development outcomes and various types of therapy.

But help was not available immediately, as many organisations had suspended their services for children aged up to six years because of the pandemic.

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