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Hong Kong’s pushy parents are the problem, not TSA or BCA
I refer to your report on the random sampling method to be used for this year’s Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA), even though all schools have to take part (“Only one in 10 Hong Kong Primary Three pupils will have to sit TSA exam, education minister says”, March 16).
The competency assessment has become notorious for the undue pressure placed on children, with schools blamed for drilling pupils in order to receive a higher rating.
However, I think the problem is not just schools, but also the attitude of parents.
First, even if primary school pupils do not have to sit the TSA or its revised version, the Basic Competency Assessment (BCA), and teachers do not give them many exercises to do, there would still be pressure from parents. Therefore, scrapping the TSA or BCA, as many have urged, would not solve the problem.
Parents also sign up children for many extracurricular activities, which does not leave them enough time to do their homework or enjoy some free time. Hong Kong parents should change their mindset of wanting their children to “win at the starting line”.
Phoenix Wong, Kwai Chung
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