Schools' choice:
Chief Executive CY Leung (second right), Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (second left), Secretary for Education Eddie Ng (left) and Committee on the Implementation of Moral & National Education Chairperson Anna Wu brief the media.
Schools' choice:
Chief Executive CY Leung (second right), Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (second left), Secretary for Education Eddie Ng (left) and Committee on the Implementation of Moral & National Education Chairperson Anna Wu brief the media.
National education decision left to schools
September 08, 2012
Chief Executive CY Leung says the Government will let schools and school-sponsoring bodies decide whether to launch moral and national education, whether it will be a standalone subject, and how and when to launch it.
Briefing the media today, Mr Leung said there will be no so-called ‘deadline’ after a three-year initiation period under the new policy. The decision was made after listening to views from schools, teachers and parents groups.
He said Hong Kong is a part of the country and it is right for students to learn about the country through education. He urged people to respect schools' and school-sponsoring bodies' autonomy if they have plans to launch the subject.
The Government will also review the moral and national education curriculum guide and make amendments, especially in the national education part, if necessary.
Mr Leung said the subject had been in preparation for a decade and the previous Government had conducted many consultations on it. The curriculum guide has also been discussed and revised several times.
He reiterated that launching the subject was not a priority under the Government’s education policy, nor was it his political mission as Chief Executive. The Government’s priorities are housing, the elderly and poverty policies.
He said the Government has a mechanism and procedures in formulating and amending policies. He made the amendment because he does not want the controversies to affect the schools’ operations, the students’ learning environment, nor the harmony of the education system.
Mr Leung hoped after his announcement, school lives will return to normal and protesters can stop expressing their demands through hunger strikes and gatherings. He reiterated that he has instructed the police not to conduct any clearing operation. The Government has also treated opposition views with tolerance.
