Ethnic minority students want level playing field in schools
I am an Indian student from a government-subsidised school and, like many ethnic minority youths, I was born and raised in Hong Kong.
I consider Hong Kong my home and wish to contribute to this society. I believe that children from ethnic minorities are important to the future development of Hong Kong.
Last month, I and my fellow ethnic minority friends joined a rally to bring to the attention of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying the problems we face in the learning of Chinese language.
We are aware that in Hong Kong, Chinese is important in further education and for those seeking employment. But, if we are to be given a chance to compete for higher education places and jobs we need help from the government.
When looking at our Chinese language exam options, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam is too easy for some of us while the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education is very difficult.
There are also the General Certificate of Education (GCE) exams, but they are expensive. The advanced level GCE fees are HK$2,720 and HK$4,080.
The families of many students cannot afford such fees. So, thanks to the present arrangements, many young people from ethnic minorities find themselves being blamed by prospective employers for not having sufficient qualifications, because an A in GCSE is only equivalent to Primary Two standards.
Since the enrolment and registration deadline for of the GCE exams is in November, I hope Mr Leung will deal promptly with this matter so ethnic minority students can be given adequate time to prepare for the exam.
Hong Kong Unison [a minorities support group] has tried many times to convey the requests of these students to the Education Bureau, but has not received a positive response.
However, we welcome Mr Leung's pledge to provide support to ethnic minority kindergarten children in learning Chinese language and to establish a Chinese as a second-language curriculum and assessment standard.
We hope he will not make the same mistake as his predecessor Donald Tsang Yam-kuen who ignored the needs of these youngsters. The dreams of many of our older brothers and sisters have been shattered. I hope Mr Leung will ensure this will not happen to me and my fellow students.
