Educationalists yesterday welcomed the idea of 300 tennis coaches to train youngsters in primary and secondary schools but questioned whether Hong Kong had the facilities to make the scheme work.
The reaction came after the Hong Kong Tennis Association announced a series of continuous training programmes aimed at promoting the sport to 130,000 students within a year.
Chairman of the Subsidised Secondary Schools Council Stephen Hui Chin-yim said: 'The scheme is insignificant and insufficient to resolve unemployment but it has established a good example for other organisations to follow suit.'
Mr Hui said that other factors for the programme, such as the closeness of facilities, number of instructors available to each school and affordability would needed to be considered.
Primary Education Research Association secretary Paul Lee Kit-kong said the introduction of student coaches could nurture a sports culture in primary and secondary schools.
'The major obstacle faced by many schools in fostering sports culture is insufficient coaches and instructors,' he said.
