Hot Topics: Can ‘Strive and Rise’ scheme lift disadvantaged Hong Kong youth from poverty, or will it let them down?

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki is leading a pilot “Strive and Rise Programme” aimed to help underprivileged pupils expand their social networks, build communication skills, and plan their finances and careers. The scheme is set to launch in October and expected to last a year.

The subsidy scheme is part of the new government’s efforts to alleviate poverty. According to Chan, under the first phase of the subsidy scheme, a start-up sum of HK$5,000 will be given to 2,000 Form One to Three students who live in subdivided flats. If more than 2,000 applications are received, preference will be given to Form Three students.

“Some may ask why only 2,000 students will benefit. This is a trial programme. We will expand it to cover more students after an ongoing review,” Chan said.

Hong Kong’s new scheme to mentor pupils living in subdivided flats

Authorities will invite commercial organisations and professional bodies to nominate mentors. Students in the programme will be recruited through community groups and schools. Mentors will help pupils with planning their lives and making the best use of the subsidies donated by the business sector.

“We hope to recruit more younger mentors because they can communicate better with the mentees. They should have a job and can arrange job shadowing,” Chan said. “We hope the mentors can also be able to share with their mentees how they faced difficulties in order to help mentees develop a positive attitude.”

Upon completion of the programme, another HK$5,000 will be awarded to students to fund their personal pursuits.

Activities for pupils would include group visits to public utilities, government departments and museums. There are also plans for them to take a short flight. Participants will also undergo compulsory training in areas such as communication skills and financial planning. Mentors and parents will also be given training. Pupils can choose to take classes in Chinese or English language, sports and music, as well as social etiquette.
Staff writers

Question prompts:

• Why is the “Strive and Rise Programme” only applicable to students who live in subdivided flats? Use Glossary and your own knowledge to explain.

• Which of the activities mentioned in Context do you think would benefit recipients of the scheme, and why?

• Hong Kong Olympic medallists among mentors in “Strive and Rise” scheme

• Scheme serves as “short- to medium-term subsidy” rather than long-term support, Form Three pupil says

Four Hong Kong Olympic medallists have been invited to act as tutors to junior secondary school pupils living in subdivided flats under a new scheme to tackle cross-generational poverty.

They are fencing gold medallist Edgar Cheung Ka-long, and women’s table tennis team members Doo Hoi-kam, Minnie Soo Wai-yam and Lee Ho-ching, who took home a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“These star tutors will increase the attractiveness of the scheme, so that grass-roots students will no longer feel that their development will be restricted by their network,” he said.

Others who have agreed to join the scheme as tutors are Dr Lo Yuen-yi, the University of Hong Kong’s associate dean of faculty of education, Hong Kong Harmonica Association founder Ho Pak-cheong, renowned conductor Yip Wing-sze and violinist Yao Jue.

Form Three pupil Kelly Lee said she was interested in joining the scheme, but its quota was too small, the duration too short and the HK$10,000 subsidy too little.

“This is not a form of long-term support, it is more of a short- to medium-term subsidy,” said the 14-year-old who lives in a subdivided flat.

What it’s like for a teen from a poor family caring for diabetic father

Using her violin lessons as an example, she said a new instrument would cost at least HK$10,000, and the average fee for a class was around HK$300 to HK$400.

She said she hoped the scheme would help her to plan her future career path and to visit events and places she had rarely been to such as concerts or theme parks.

Separately, Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of the Society for Community Organisation, said the scheme was a move in the right direction, but the one-year period was not long enough for mentors and mentees to develop a relationship. Sze added that the subsidy should be increased to HK$20,000 per student, and more pupils should be allowed to join.
Staff writers

Question prompts:

• Do you think recruiting the four Hong Kong Olympians as mentors increases the attractiveness of the scheme? Explain.

• Why does Kelly Lee say the programme is “more of a short- to medium-term subsidy” than long-term support? Use Context, News and Glossary to explain.

• Academics warn “Strive and Rise” scheme will not tackle problems of intergenerational poverty on its own

• More long-term commitment needed to ensure underprivileged children are lifted out of poverty cycle

The “Strive and Rise Programme” designed to help lift struggling Hong Kong secondary school pupils out of poverty is “half-baked”, experts have said.

Academics and social workers insisted that the government-organised scheme was not enough on its own, and other major problems such as the housing crisis and low incomes had to be tackled as well.

“There must be elements of continuity in the scheme,” said Amy Chan Kung Wai-ying, the chairwoman of the Child Development Matching Fund, a charity that has worked with the government to deliver similar programmes since 2009. “The government should provide a ladder for them and also keep helping them move up along the way.”

According to Chan, the scheme was too career-focused for such young children, and the programme would not achieve its aims without follow-up measures. She appealed to authorities to allocate resources for continued support to the secondary pupils involved, who would need guidance for several years.

Experts have also blamed worsening intergenerational poverty on the city’s growing income gap, soaring cost of living and limited help programmes.

Lee Chun-wing, a social sciences lecturer at Polytechnic University, accused the government of a lack of new ideas and follow-up measures. “It’s a half-baked plan as the government delivered no new ideas and no solid plans on tracking the progress of students,” he said.

Why low-income Hongkongers are being pushed from one temporary flat to another

Lee said authorities tended to attribute intergenerational poverty to youngsters’ lack of social skills and limited opportunities, but the problem’s causes were more complex. He explained there was a critical need to review the city’s employment structure to close the poverty gap and boost the incomes of low-paid workers.

Lee also appealed for more immediate measures to be taken to improve living conditions for poorer schoolchildren so they had a suitable home environment to concentrate on their studies.
Staff writers

Question prompts:

• What does Amy Chan mean when she says there must be “elements of continuity in the scheme”? Explain your answer using News and Issue.

• Using your own knowledge and Glossary, explain how widening income gap, soaring cost of living and lack of help programmes cause intergenerational poverty.

Question prompts:

• Which group of people could the cat represent?

• What is the cat asking the kid to do, and why is this tough for the kid?

• What is the cartoon’s attitude towards the “Strive and Rise Programme”, and why? Explain using News and Issue.

Context:

• Why is the “Strive and Rise Programme” only applicable to students who live in subdivided flats? Use Glossary and your own knowledge to explain. (It is because this group of people are living in poverty and are likely to have the least financial means and access to the activities provided in the scheme. They are also more likely to face financial or other sorts of difficulties in their lives, and they will benefit from the mentors’ advice.

• Which of the activities mentioned in Context do you think would benefit recipients of the scheme, and why? (Training in terms of communication skills and financial planning because they will most likely be unable to afford such classes otherwise. These skills are also crucial for future success.)

News:

• Do you think recruiting the four Hong Kong Olympians as mentors increases the attractiveness of the scheme? Explain. (Yes, these athletes are inspirational figures for the city’s youth, and they have each excelled in their respective sports. All of them are also under 30, and they will be able to better relate to the mentees.)

• Why does Kelly Lee say the programme is “more of a short- to medium-term subsidy” than long-term support? Use Context, News and Glossary to explain. (Having only 2,000 spots is not enough to help the city’s 275,000 youth living in poverty. HK$10,000 is also too little to fund worthwhile pursuits, such as enrolling in enrichment classes or starting their own business ventures. At the end of the day, none of this addresses the root causes of their struggles.)

Issue:

• What does Amy Chan mean when she says there must be “elements of continuity in the scheme”? Explain your answer using News and Issue. (She means that the “Strive and Rise Programme” should not simply be a one-year subsidy scheme, and its duration should be extended to that of a long-term programme. This way, students’ progress can be tracked to ensure that they truly benefit from it. As mentioned by Kelly Lee in News, even though she is interested in the scheme, the duration is barely enough for her to explore the possibility of a future career in music.)

• Using your own knowledge and Glossary, explain how widening income gap, soaring cost of living and lack of help programmes cause intergenerational poverty. (Intergenerational poverty is passed on from one generation to the next. A widening income gap, combined with soaring cost of living means that low-wage workers are not paid enough to maintain basic needs. If a parent does not make enough money to pay for rent, for example, then their children may struggle to focus on their studies when their home environment is unstable. These individuals may rely on the government to provide financial assistance, but when there are not enough help programmes, they have no choice but to fend for themselves.)

Cartoon:

• Which group of people could the cat represent? (The task force in charge of the scheme / Wealthy people with a lot of power in the city)

• What is the cat asking the kid to do, and why is this tough for the kid? (The cat is asking the kid to get up while sitting on him, making it hard for him to follow the instructions.)

• What is the cartoon’s attitude towards the “Strive and Rise Programme”, and why? Explain using News and Issue. (It expresses scepticism towards the scheme as shown by the cat sitting on the student while asking him to “strive and rise”. This reflects the lack of thought in the “half-baked” scheme as mentioned by the experts in News and Issue. Not only is the programme lacking in its duration, subsidy amount, and reach, but it also assumes intergenerational poverty can be alleviated without considering other factors such as widening income gap and rising cost of living.)