Ming Kei College 16 Oak Street Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon PRINCIPAL Hui Chin-yim of Ming Kei College hopes his 'open door' policy, which enables students to see him without prior appointment, would prompt them to be assertive when confronting authority.
'My door is always open to students. If they want to discuss anything, they can just walk in. This is to encourage them to approach the highest authority with confidence when they have problems and make use of their bargaining skills. Another goal is to train them to be firm even in the presence of authority.' There were times when students wanted to set up a new interest club or needed funds to organise some activity, the principal said.
'They should come directly to me with a detailed proposal.
'While preparing the proposal, the students would have to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the project, and thoroughly consider its practical aspects - such as the money and space needed.' The school which advocates all-round education, also encourages senior students to help Form One students adapt to the new study environment through the 'Peer Counselling Scheme'.
Only Form Four and Form Six students can apply to be volunteers and they have to go through a screening in which their performance in academic and extra-curricular activities is taken into consideration.
'To ensure that these 'big brothers' or 'big sisters' are capable of handling the problems of Form One students, the volunteers themselves have to be academically sound and have good discipline record.' The volunteers are also offered training by the school, after which each volunteer takes charge of a group of five or six Form One students. They meet regularly to discuss study and personal problems.
The school also launched a 'Be a Good Mother' programme to help parents of Form One students understand the problems and needs of their children better.