In recent years, the fact that primary school students are dismissed from class at 3:30 pm has become a thorny issue for working parents. In response, the Central Committee of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party (CPWDP) has submitted a proposal.

The proposal is based on lessons from a pilot program implemented in Shijiazhuang, where free child-care has been successfully rolled out across 210 public schools.

The proposal involves building a free after-school child-care system bringing together communities, HEIs, child-care institutions, parents, teachers and volunteers. As an example, qualified, willing and caring community workers and college students can volunteer to take care of pupils under the unified arrangements of the school after 3:30 pm. Or alternatively, schools and parents may build a joint care model where interested parents take turns to assist teachers in looking after students after their early dismissal.

The proposal concludes with a suggestion that educational departments, third-party agencies and schools should jointly build a monitoring and assessment system to keep track of the progress made in implementing such programs.