Education chief must fix flawed system
In Hong Kong society students are judged by how well they do academically, particularly in the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE).
If your DSE exam results are bad, you won’t get a coveted place at a local university and you will be dubbed a failure. However, I wonder if too much importance is placed on getting a degree. There are plenty of graduates nowadays who cannot get a job or who end up earning around HK$10,000 or less a month, which is probably less than a waiter.
There are Hongkongers who left school with a low educational level, but they worked hard and learned new skills in the workplace and they are now able to command good salaries, of between HK$20,0000 and HK$40,000.
Many Western countries have a different education system from Hong Kong and their citizens have a different set of social values. There is far more flexibility and less pressure from kindergarten onwards.
In Hong Kong, and most Asian countries, starting in kindergarten, students learn to become little exam machines, with the emphasis on passing exams.
Hong Kong’s educational system needs to change. Piecemeal measures like giving each school HK$5,000 to boost student morale will not deal with the problems. The whole education system has to change, along with social values.