Mother-tongue teaching will help students become biliterate and trilingual, according to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.
Mr Tung said the Government's policy on language in education was aimed at establishing an environment in which students attained proficiency in written English and Chinese, and fluency in Cantonese, Putonghua and English.
Visiting Pui Ching Middle School in Kowloon City, Mr Tung said studies had shown that mother-tongue teaching was the most effective medium for learning.
'Mother-tongue teaching complements rather than contradicts improving English language standards and overall academic performance,' Mr Tung said.
'The provision of good-quality education depends on the educational methods adopted by schools.
'Academic results are determined by a number of factors, such as the goals they set, their experience, the quality of the principals and teachers, and the teaching environment.
'The Government and the community together will provide guidance and, gradually, proficiency in the Chinese language, which will become a prerequisite for further study and job-seeking.' The Government plans to allocate more resources for schools using the mother tongue as the medium of instruction.
