Hong Kong schools to get HK$80,000 over two years to improve mental health in classrooms and told to review pupil workloads
- The cash, HK$60,000 to schools and HK$20,000 to parent-teacher associations, will be handed out over the next two academic years
- Education Bureau circular advises schools to ‘make the well-being of students the priority and to pay close attention to their mental health’
The funding, HK$60,000 to the schools and HK$20,000 to parent-teacher associations, and the review, to be implemented in the next two academic years, were announced in a circular sent to public and semi-private institutions on Thursday by the Education Bureau.
“The Education Bureau has advised schools to make the well-being of students the priority and to pay close attention to their mental health,” the circular said.
“Schools should review students’ workload and the arrangements for assessments in a pragmatic and professional manner according to their abilities and needs.
“This is to secure sufficient time for rest and leisure, as well as the capacity to engage in physically and mentally stimulating activities, to help relieve stress.”
This year’s figures included 20 incidents that happened in the two months after the start of the school term in September.
Louise So Yuen-yi, the deputy secretary of the bureau, said in an online article that pupils still needed time to adapt to the unprecedented changes caused by the pandemic as they resumed their academic studies and social lives.
“They may also feel stressed when facing different forms of assessments,” she said.
She added the bureau was working with others to safeguard the mental health of pupils.
The circular said the one-off grant of HK$60,000 would be given to public, aided and direct subsidy scheme schools between 2023 and 2025 to organise mental health-related activities.
The bureau said activities could include stress-relief workshops and the organisation of groups to deal with emotional troubles and the creation of a “mental health corner” in schools.
Parent-teacher associations at government-funded schools will also receive a one-off grant of HK$20,000 over the same period to organise educational activities for families on how to support children’s mental health through collaborations with their schools.
Schools have also been asked to organise a mental health day in November and promote physical activities. A resource kit on mental health will be released.
Polly Chan Suk-yee, the vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, said the measures could help reinforce existing awareness and efforts to promote mental health in schools.
But she said she doubted if schools could dedicate more time and resources to tackling the problem.
“Teachers are incredibly busy these days – whether they have the capacity to further build relationships and spend more time on communicating with students, that might not be easy given the current situation,” Chan said.
She added workload reviews could be one of the solutions to giving teachers the breathing space to help look after pupils’ mental health because schools had the flexibility to manage internal examination and test arrangements.
Chan said her school had cut down the content being tested in a bid to reduce stress among pupils and to allow them to have more face-to-face time with teachers for academic and pastoral purposes.
But she added the bureau could explore whether adjustments could be made to systemic assessments, such as those for secondary school places allocation.
Chan, the principal of Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road) in Kowloon, said it was more important to teach pupils how to deal with difficulties and seek help rather than trying to give them complete protection from stress.
If you have suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or +1 800 273 8255.
