Education Bureau says primary school students should learn simplified Chinese
Document on Chinese language curriculum for primary schools says this would give pupils broader reading range. Bureau has clarified that reading simplified characters is not an item for discussion for this public consultation
The discovery of a document for public consultation on the renewal of the Chinese language education curriculum has prompted anger among internet users and educators because it stated that pupils should be able to read simplified Chinese characters so they have a wider reading range.
The document was released by the Education Bureau’s Curriculum Development Council in December and was not noted until Thursday. The public consultation ends on February 15.
But the bureau later stated that reading simplified Chinese, which is used on the mainland, is not an item for discussion for the consultation. A source from the Education Bureau said the guideline on learning simplified Chinese had existed for 10 years.
The document said students should be equipped with the ability to read simplified Chinese characters so they had a broader reading range and better communication with the mainland and overseas. It did not elaborate.
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Education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen noted that there had only been criticism recently – even though the guideline was released a decade ago – because society was more sensitive now about issues like mainlandisation.
Ip did not support the introduction of a curriculum on simplified Chinese characters as he felt it would confuse children.