ALL compulsory education institutions in China will provide their students with after-school services starting fall semester 2021, the Ministry of Education announced yesterday.

After-school services are intended for students whose parents have trouble picking them up when school hours end. The ministry stipulated that such services are to be provided on every school day, and the duration should be no less than two hours, depending on the end of local daily work hours.

Speaking of the summer vacation daycare services at school, the ministry said they consist of mainly guided extracurricular activities instead of subject classes, and that participation for both students and teachers is entirely voluntary.

In 2019, Shenzhen’s Municipal Education Bureau released a circular, announcing that starting the spring semester of 2021, students attending the compulsory nine-year education in the city would be able to enjoy after-school services. According to the circular, schools should provide the services in the afternoon for one or two class hours after daily teaching programs and the after-school services should end before 6 p.m.

Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, has been offering free after-school programs in all primary schools since 2017.

230,000 primary school students in Nanjing are attending such programs this year, accounting for half of all students.

All 84 primary and middle schools in Beijing’s Dongcheng District also offer such programs, which are attended by almost 80 percent of students.

In a China Daily report June 30, it said according to a survey by China Youth Daily, more than 92 percent of parents expect schools to organize safe and rewarding after-school programs for their children.

The survey of 1,605 parents found that 73 percent want the programs to cover tutoring and on-site question-and-answer activities, while about 70 percent hope teachers could guide their children with homework.

It found 56.2 percent of parents expect their children to pursue their hobbies, 50.8 percent prefer sports activities and 44.2 percent prefer reading.

(SD-Xinhua)