More schools flying the national flag on special occasions
Eight out of 10 local schools hoisted national flags on special occasions and important days last year, compared with fewer than half in 2003, a senior education official said yesterday.
Speaking at the Legislative Council's home affairs panel yesterday, Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Catherine Chan Ka-ki revealed a growing trend in the display of the national flag in local schools.
Last year, 80 per cent of schools displayed national flags on special days, including National Day and days marking the establishment of the special administrative region on July 1 and the May Fourth Movement. Dr Chan said that fewer than 50 per cent of schools were doing so in 2003.
A small number of schools failed to practise flag-raising because of space limitations, she said.
Dr Chan said the administration would continue encouraging schools to display the national flag more often and to form special teams to handle flag-raising ceremonies.
But Wong Ting-kwong, a lawmaker with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, wanted to know why flag-raising was limited to special occasions and not practised daily.
He also questioned the effectiveness of the government's call for schools to display the flag more often, saying many schools hoisted only the Hong Kong flag.
The government also faced criticism on the inclusion of what were described as 'selective materials' on the Beijing Olympics, the Three Gorges Project and space development in teaching resources for primary-school teachers responsible for general studies and Chinese history.
Cheung Man-kwong, the lawmaker for the education constituency, said the choice of teaching materials failed to present a full picture of Chinese history to students.
'The government just focuses on achievements over the past three decades but doesn't bother to mention the painful chapters of history of our country before the reform and opening-up process,' he said.
Dr Chan said pupils would also be told about the background of those achievements.
In an attempt to 'enhance students' national pride', the Education Bureau plans to include contemporary achievements on the mainland - including this year's Olympics and economic progress - in primary general studies and Chinese history.
The mainland's reform and Chinese culture would be made core modules in liberal studies that would be compulsory for all senior secondary students next year.
In the next financial year, the government would provide support for 14,000 more students to visit the mainland. Currently it sets aside HK$38 million a year for implementing various national-identity education initiatives.
Embracing the nation
Patriotism has become a matter of heated political debate
To implement national identity education, the government has set aside an annual sum of $38m
