Politics and contending interests have slowed the pace of education reform in Hong Kong relative to the mainland, a senior Shanghai official says.
Shanghai Municipal Education Commission deputy director Zhang Minsheng said reforms in Hong Kong had brought controversy, which made it more difficult to reach a consensus about changing the system.
'Hong Kong society is more pluralistic. Parents and various educational bodies are used to airing divergent opinions,' he said. 'Whenever there is a voice from above, there are always 10 different voices from below. The SAR Government cannot carry out education reform as quickly as we have done.'
He said Shanghai's education authorities had greater administrative power than their counterparts in Hong Kong, but added that centralising power too far could also create problems.
'When we consider some reform proposals are good for our students, we will implement them without any hesitation,' he said. 'Our style of education also has defects. The education sector is used to having to wait for instructions from the Government and may not have enough initiative.'
The Education Commission of Hong Kong has adopted a number of ideas from the mainland, including admitting students to schools in their own districts, and the so-called 'through train', which lets students go from primary to secondary schools without taking exams.
