St James’ Settlement’s tutoring scheme helps students gain confidence in learning

Publish Date: 20-Apr-2021

Hang Seng Bank committed HK$10 million to the Hang Seng Academic Assistance Programme as a measure to support students whose schooling was seriously affected during school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Partnering with St James’ Settlement, the programme lined up seven social service units and thirteen primary schools to provide extra learning support to 4,600 underprivileged primary and lower secondary school students between June 2020 and January 2021.

Participating students were surveyed about the effectiveness of the programme during the service period and the results were announced on 31 March.

The survey found that the students became more confident in coping with their school work after having participated in the programme from 65% of the students surveyed before their participation to 76%. Meanwhile, 83% of the students said that they received sufficient support at the end of the programme compared with only 64% of the students before the programme started. Overall, the survey found that 90% of the students were satisfied with the tutoring services and said that their tutors were able to help them with their homework and other learning difficulties.

The survey also found that students felt less stressed in learning after taking part in the programme. Their performances in other areas also improved significantly, which included more confidence in learning, better time management skills and more focus during lessons. Over 80% of the students, who had been troubled by stress in learning, said that they received sufficient support from the programme. And 87% attained a medium to a high level of self-learning management efficiency. Some 60% said the programme helped relieve their stress.

Since students are still grappling with a hybrid schooling environment that combines distance-learning and in-person classes and are under stress, Hang Seng Bank and St James’ Settlement will continue to work with the seven social service units to launch the second phase of the Academic Assistance Programme, which will be held between April and August this year. The second phase aims to enhance the students learning effectiveness, encourage them to learn independently and adapt to the changes in their learning environment. The programme is also planning extra-curricular activities to alleviate the students’ stress.