Hong Kong’s education chief on Thursday announced major changes to reform the much-criticized liberal studies secondary school subject which was blamed for the lawlessness and street chaos that plagued the city for much of last year.
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The reforms, aimed at cultivating value and national identity among local students, will see the Education Bureau screen all teaching manuals, change the way it is graded, and rename the subject.
Kevin Yeung said liberal studies will remain a compulsory subject for senior secondary students, but it would emphasize the need to develop correct values, positive attitudes, and national identity among students
The Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung revealed this in a news conference a day after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in her 2020 Policy Address had called for the curriculum to focus on rectifying deviations from its objectives that have caused such controversy.
Yeung said that liberal studies will remain a compulsory subject for senior secondary students, but it would emphasize the need to develop correct values, positive attitudes, and national identity among students. Students must learn about the development of their motherland, the Constitution, the Basic Law, and the rule of law during the course, he said.
The bureau also proposed assessing the subject as a simple pass or fail in public exams, and one of its projects, Independent Enquiry Study will be canceled.
Education practitioners and social leaders welcomed the “long-overdue” move.
Nicholas Muk Ka-chun, who teaches liberal studies and history at Pui Kiu Middle School in North Point, agreed that students should gain a better understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law through the course.
Therefore, it is only natural that liberal studies teachers also enhance their awareness and expertise in relevant areas, he said.
In the past, some teachers have been unprofessional or ill-informed themselves when teaching about the Chinese mainland, often creating a negative (perception) or even the wrong information, he said.
Muk also suggested that the Education Bureau organize training sessions and exchange trips to the mainland for teachers.
Hong Kong teachers were usually only guardians during mainland exchange tours for the students.
The Education Bureau, by requiring prior screening of the textbooks, will close the biggest loophole in the liberal studies curriculum
Wong Kam-leung,
chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers
Liberal studies teachers should actively participate in designated exchange visits for them to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the mainland, he said.
Wong Kam-leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said the Education Bureau, by requiring prior screening of the textbooks, will close the biggest loophole in the liberal studies curriculum.
It will make sure the teaching manuals are of a certain standard, protect the students, as well as lift teachers’ burden to prepare manuals themselves, Wong said.
Wong applauded the bureau’s decision to reshuffle and simplify the curriculum by including content that is related to national development, the Constitution and the rule of law. This will help students foster a better sense of the nation and protect them from one-sided fallacies, Wong said.
Lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, who is also chairwoman of the Panel on Education in the Legislative Council, hoped the move will help the subject stay true to its original aspiration.
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She suggested that the bureau train teachers for liberal studies systematically and they pass tests before taking on the teaching posts.
Our Hong Kong Foundation, a high-powered think tank in Hong Kong, was behind the groundswell of support for the education reform in liberal studies. The think tank in September made that suggestion to the government, proposing to rename it as “Integrated Studies” to better fit into its characteristics and original goal of enhancing critical thinking through integrated studies of various disciplines.
Irons Sze Wing-wai, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, proposed making the subject an elective, instead of being mandatory.
The business leader also proposed making it mandatory for students of primary, secondary schools and colleges to attend exchange programs or study tours to the Chinese mainland.
In a statement on Thursday night, The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city’s biggest political party, urged speedy implementation of the reform measures when the new academic year starts in September 2021 to avoid any further spread of the political fallacies that troubled students during last year’s social unrest.
