Budget got it wrong on education
The responses from the Hong Kong community to Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's budget have not been very positive. As an educator, I am also concerned about the resources the government devotes to nurturing the next generation.
The responses from the Hong Kong community to Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's budget have not been very positive.
Some regard the measures he announced as disappointing and platitudinous, while others, especially the middle class, consider the handouts to be paltry. Every year, when the budget speech is made, members of the middle class are left feeling a bit like Cinderella.
I agree that while the government bears some responsibility to support low-income groups, the needs of the middle class cannot be neglected.
Middle-class citizens are part of our community and they work hard to strive for a better Hong Kong. They, too, deserve more subsidies to alleviate their financial burden caused by inflation.
As an educator, I am also concerned about the resources the government devotes to nurturing the next generation.
It is pleasing to learn that expenditure on education continues to be the highest in the budget.
Unfortunately, I have strong reservations regarding Tsang's proposal to inject an additional HK$480 million into the Government Scholarship Fund to establish scholarships for outstanding local students to "take degree courses or teacher training programmes in prestigious overseas universities".