There was once a student who scored zero in his first public exam, but is now doing very well, so why can't we?

Matthew Lui Yue-chun was a former gang member, and had a hard life as a teenager.

He repeated Form Four three times, and got zero in his first attempt at the HKCEE. Then he became a Christian and turned over a new leaf. He never gave up on his studies.

His determination led him to achieve 2As, 1B and 2Ds in the HKCEE. He went to university where he gained two master's degrees and a PhD. He works as a financial planner and part-time teacher at an education centre.

Lui shares his story with students in public talks and he has inspired many young people.

He is my role model. All of us can learn from his perseverance.

Peter Wong Tsun-kit, SKH Tsang Shiu Tim Secondary School

MTR users need to behave better

When MTR trains arrive at a station, we hear announcements - in three languages - to let people exit first. But no one seems to pay any attention.

It is just so frustrating when people rush into compartments as soon as the train doors open. Not only that, most of them grab any available seat and forget the needs of the elderly and pregnant women. As soon as they sit, they lock their eyes on their smartphones.

I think the public should be taught the basics of MTR manners over and over again. Perhaps the message could be conveyed through smartphone apps or in the media.

Kent De Jesus, Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo)

Are tutorial classes really necessary?

While some may argue that students receive enough education from traditional schools, there are still many students who attend tutorial centres every day. This should be a cause for concern.

Hong Kong students are often affected by peer influence. If your classmates attend tutorial classes, you may worry about falling behind, as they receive more learning materials and tips for public examinations from their private tutors. This inequality motivates some students to have extra lessons and get better academic results.

Parents want to provide the best education for their children and do not care about cost.

They believe that having more notes and listening to the same content repeatedly can help their children learn better.

But this trend is bringing about adverse effects.

Students can get very tired since they have to attend different tutorial classes after being in school for eight hours. If they have a tight schedule, they will be nervous and this could cause health problems.

To ease the increasing demand for tutorial classes, both the government and parents need to take action.

Parents should not force their students to attend extra classes anymore. And the Education Bureau should provide more material and financial support to traditional schools.

In this way, students can rely on their schools to get good grades in public exams.

Kelly Lam Wing-sum, Leung Shek Chee College

Shops should halt wasteful practices

Research by Friends of the Earth shows that four supermarkets in Hong Kong dump more than 87 tonnes food per day, some of which is not past its sell-by date.

It's a pity that some people are wasting resources while others don't have enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear.

Besides recycling, we should try to do more to save the Earth, such as eating less meat and not wasting the food that we have.

Supermarkets in Hong Kong should fulfil their responsibilities to society. It would be much better for them to donate unsold food to food banks to help people in need. Also, food past its sell-by date could be used as compost or fodder.

I hope supermarkets will put these practices into action soon and start to reduce the waste.

Maggie Lam Mei-suen, STFA Tam Pak Yu College