Who said life gets harder as you get older? A joint survey has found that the city’s primary school students spend more time doing homework than those in secondary school – although everyone, of course, does a tonne of work because this is Hong Kong.
After surveying more than 1,000 students, the researchers found that primary pupils spend approximately 2.38 hours on homework a night. Form Four or Five students, in comparison, only spend 2.2 hours on homework a night. What a treat!
67.6 percent of primary children also said they attended after school tutorials, compared to just 40 percent of secondary students.
This clearly leaves primary kids with less time for important relaxation and socialisation activities, such as playing video games while chatting to someone they’ve never met via a headset. Kids still do that, right?
The results come as many Hong Kong parents complain that the Territory-wide System Assessments (TSA) are demanding too much from children at an early age. While the Hong Kong government is due to release a report on the tests next month, the Pan-Democrats want to scrap the assessments altogether.
“There is too much pressure,” says Hok Wong, who has two children in the primary school system. “There’s too much homework in the Hong Kong schools!”
“Students tend to leave the schools with good grades, but no social or analytical skills. They end up with degrees, but unable to figure out how to solve a challenge,” added Richard Owen, who works at the Australian School of Hong Kong.
The Boys and Girls Association, the Professional Teachers’ Union and the Graduate Association of the College of Education were the joint conductors of the survey. The group called for students to have more leisure time, concluding that the strenuous workload could affect their mental health.
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