All Hong Kong's public secondary schools before 1998 used English as the medium of instruction. The switch to the mother tongue - in this case Cantonese - at 300 of the 412 schools since then continues to be the source of much controversy. But the recent results from the HKCEE tell us that at least two of the main predictions made at the time of the change have occurred. Students at schools where the mother-tongue policy has been adopted are performing better in a broad range of subjects but their English-language standards have slipped. Students are achieving more pass grades in subjects ranging from maths to history to biology.
However, English-language scores are on the whole entirely discouraging. From an overall pass rate for all schools of 80 per cent in 2002 - the last year that students under the old system were tested - this year's English-language pass rate is just 68.8 per cent. For at least one school, the drop between this year and last is 10 percentage points. The declining pass rates are occurring despite the fact that more students are opting for the easier of two English test papers.
Although it is encouraging to see that the reform is having its intended effect on the students' general ability to learn, there has been a cost. Our education chiefs now have the responsibility to look at how we can keep the benefits of the mother-tongue teaching while also compensating for the problems created because students are no longer immersed in an English-language environment. If Hong Kong is to remain the international city it claims to be, this will be essential.
Oddly enough, the government seems to be preparing a consultation paper on the mother-tongue teaching, but with a focus on those schools that still use English as their medium of instruction. Why not a review of how well the policy is working at all our secondary schools? Surely this would be more useful.
The concern with the 112 schools that kept English-language testing seems to be that their Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination pass rates have declined and the authorities want to review their capability for providing education in English. Fair enough, but the bureau should be aware that there is unlikely to be a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. Some schools are advocating the chance to start English-language teaching earlier than allowed now, perhaps in Form One.
If they have the resources, including qualified teachers, this should be given serious consideration. Demand for English-instruction schooling remains high in Hong Kong and those schools dedicated to providing it should be given the support they need to make it a success.