Keep backing reform, retiring commission head urges teachers

Outgoing Education Commission chairman Rosanna Wong Yick-ming yesterday urged teachers to continue their support for education reform and hoped that they would continue to receive more respect from society.

'Education is a profession about people. It needs to be pushed forward by people. Its effectiveness cannot be quantified. It cannot be rushed, and has to be undertaken step by step,' she wrote for the Letter to Hong Kong programme on RTHK yesterday.

'Many times, we held differences in views. Consensus was difficult to achieve. We had disputes and long consultation processes. But all these difficulties were overcome through our collective efforts,' she said.

Dr Wong hoped that the government would continue to invest in education and that teachers would receive more respect from society. She also wished that more young people would join the profession.

'I believe if the education reform is heading the right direction, we must persist and not turn back.'

She said reform had already generated many positive results, including an increase in choices in the education sector; improvement in students' learning progress; a higher level of enthusiasm and professionalism of teachers; and a trend for whole-life learning.