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Education in Hong Kong
Opinion

Making STEM fun for children is vital for Hong Kong’s future

Ken Chu says the Hong Kong economy needs a workforce trained in science and technology to compete in today’s digital world, and no push to promote STEM education in schools can succeed without children taking a genuine interest in these subjects

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Pupils from Baptist Lui Ming Choi Primary School in Sha Tin attend a class on STEM and robotics in March last year. The school is one of several in Hong Kong to have introduced STEM education for primary school pupils. But apart from maths, no other STEM subject is mandatory in schools. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Ken Chu
Hong Kong’s next budget looks set to be full of surprises amid the bright outlook for the city, but it should also be one that prepares us for future developments and grooms our next generation. One vital area in need of government investment is education, particularly STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education.
In today’s fast-evolving world increasingly dominated by algorithms, artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, every economy needs a workforce trained in innovation, science and technology. This is why many countries have reformed their education system to feature STEM education.
A coding boot camp for adults in Paris, France, held in January. The Le Wagon boot camp teaches computer coding to a growing number of bankers, consultants and marketing executives. Photo: Bloomberg
A coding boot camp for adults in Paris, France, held in January. The Le Wagon boot camp teaches computer coding to a growing number of bankers, consultants and marketing executives. Photo: Bloomberg

Have you done your hour of coding this week?

Recognising the importance of STEM and following a consultation with key stakeholders, the government released a report in 2016 on the promotion of STEM education, which sets out recommendations for primary and secondary schools.
The government report offers many recommendations but a key element – the fun factor – seems to be missing

Furthermore, the Education Bureau provides funding and other kinds of support to schools to promote STEM programmes. For example, it launched a STEM Education Centre last year as part of its Arts and Technology Education Centre, to strengthen support for technology education in schools.

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Despite these efforts, Hong Kong is still being criticised for lagging behind in this aspect.

There are a number of reasons for this. Foremost is Hong Kong’s failure to give priority to STEM subjects in its school syllabus. Among the four subjects, only maths is mandatory throughout the six years of secondary school education, but engineering and technology-related subjects are not.

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Furthermore, even after the introduction of the new senior secondary curriculum in 2009, science subjects remain electives for senior secondary students.

Calls to trim core secondary school subjects to make room for science electives

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