Surprisingly, more fathers were waiting outside a primary school to pick up their children in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, than mothers on Monday, and the reason was an initiative to let fathers have more time with children.

"Today my dad will pick me up!" Hu Xiaoyou, a student at Guanggu No 11 Primary School, a branch of the Wuchang Experimental Primary School, said as she excitedly waited at the school gate.

"This is actually the first time. He is too busy with his work, and sometimes he even comes home after I fall asleep. My mom always picks me up, but I really hope that my dad can do so every day," said the girl.

The Wuchang Experimental Primary School asked fathers to pick up their children so that dads who are absent from their kids' life become more involved in their activities.

Zhang Jiguang, the principal, said that the activity of "fathers picking up children from school" was needed as mothers show up at parents' meeting or other school activities most of the time.

According to a survey conducted by Guanggu No 11 Primary School, more than half of those who regularly pick up and drop off their children were mothers. Fathers only accounted for 13.33 percent, even behind grandmothers' 14.39 percent.

When responding to the question "who would you most like to pick up your child from school?" 52.98 percent of the mothers chose "father".

"More importantly, we want to remind fathers of their irreplaceable role in family education," he said.

The principal said no matter how busy the fathers are with their work, it's hoped that they would spend more time with their children and better fulfill their responsibilities.