A new documentary series shows how school life has changed for Hong Kong's students over the past 150 years.
RTHK and the Education Department collaborated on the production of School Days, which is being aired on ATV Home at 7 pm on Sundays.
The 12-episode series features school teachers and pupils who recall what studying was like before air-conditioned classrooms and modern equipment were introduced.
'The programmes show the transformation and development of education over the past 150 years as we look forward to a new century,' said Director of Education Helen Yu Lai Ching-ping at a ceremony held to launch the series.
Guests at the function included veteran teacher Wong King-kong who recalled how teaching used to be very difficult because of the high number of students in each class. There were only two staff members to teach 83 students at his old school.
Former teacher Lee Siu-tin said school fees amounted to one-seventh of household expenditure before subsidised schools were set up by the government in the 1970s. From 1971, there was a six-year period of free education.
Mrs Yu said there had been no sex discrimination in her family but it was common in society when she was a student.
