HONG KONG - Tao Xiaorong spent a month's rent to buy her 12-year-old son a used laptop in February, a few weeks after schools in Hong Kong closed and classes went virtual. But their internet service is so spotty that he's had trouble participating in online classes.
The educational disparities playing out in Hong Kong, one of the world's most economically stratified societies, offer a glimpse into struggles many countries will face in addressing the disproportionate mark the pandemic is leaving on lower-income communities. A Unesco report in March warned of increased dropout rates, malnutrition, social isolation and increased exposure to violence and exploitation as a result of prolonged school closures.
In Hong Kong, one of the world's most expensive cities, there is great disparity in the school network of 1.22 million students, from government schools and private schools that receive subsidies to well-funded international schools. But it's likely that only the best-funded schools will run programmes to bring kids back up to speed. Hong Kong International School, one of the city's toniest, will offer free summer enrichment programmes for grade-school students, focused on giving them more opportunities for social interaction.
Last year only about 42 per cent of students who took the required Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education test earned the minimum score needed to enter universities.