Before the first group of students began tutoring on Feb 17, they were given three training sessions covering aspects of volunteer work, basic teaching methodology and psychological counseling.

Jia Ganchu says the university launched a second recruitment drive on March 3. The program will start in mid-March and will not just be limited to families in Shanghai, but will also extend to Hubei medical professionals whose children are in primary and secondary education.

Wei Yichou, a student majoring in clinical medicine at the university, says: "Many of our teachers and alumni have gone to help Hubei. Although we cannot go there, we feel their anxiety and can do our part to help lessen their concerns about their children's education."

Besides Fudan University, other institutions have launched similar initiatives. East China Normal University has paired volunteers majoring in teaching and education with some 280 children whose parents are doctors, nurses, police or community workers in Shanghai.

As for Yang, she says she also gains when she gives. Yang video chats with Jiabin four times a week. Each session lasts an hour, during which Yang gives Jiabin quizzes, explains the difficult parts of his homework and mathematics exercise, before going over what the fifth grader has studied.

"Every time when my little student thanks me for helping him solve a problem, I feel the joy of giving," she says. "When his parents tell me about his progress, I feel the joy of being trusted."

xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn