AS is regularly reported in the South China Morning Post, the language standard of Hong Kong students is declining. As a parent this concerns me.
One way to help students improve their Chinese, is to start teaching and allowing them to use the simplified Chinese characters which are much easier to learn.
With 90 per cent of Chinese in the world using the simplified characters and with 1997 fast approaching, I think the Director of Education should seriously consider introducing the simplified characters to the classroom as soon as possible.
The students would be allowed to use either the traditional or simplified characters for two or three years.
I hope the Director of Education will respond to my suggestion and let the public know whether there are plans in hand to introduce the simplified Chinese characters.
If no plans exist, he should explain why this is so.