LettersHong Kong protests are proof that schools have failed young students

The current education system created a generation ignorant of morality and civic duty. What’s worse, students have been unduly influenced by some unprofessional teachers in liberal studies classes

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Masked students in school uniform form a human chain along Shing Mun River in Sha Tin as part of an anti-government protest on September 19. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 27 Oct 2019Updated: 12:00pm, 27 Oct 2019

The increasing number of students arrested in unlawful protests, and for attacks on policemen and citizens, should raise the alarm about Hong Kong’s education system. The Hong Kong government had several years ago proposed making moral and national education compulsory at primary and secondary schools, but chief executive Leung Chun-ying had to call off the plan in 2012 due to immense opposition from the community and the education sector.

However, the violence and blatant violation of the law seen from student mobs over the past months highlights the depth of the failure of the current education system and the need for moral and civic education.

Education is meant to guide the younger generation in acquiring knowledge and preparing for their future on the foundation of ethics, law and rationality. Yet, the current exam-oriented education system gives a low priority to moral and civic education. Teachers prefer to spend more time teaching core subjects and preparing their students for examinations. Eventually, students are equipped with more knowledge and exam skills, but end up being ignorant of morality and civil duty.

What’s worse, without proper regulation of teachers’ neutrality, the liberal studies course has turned into propaganda sessions in which students are passively receiving biased and one-sided presentations on social issues – or even scathing and violent vilification – from some unprofessional teachers. Teachers organising human chain protests and unlawful assemblies along with their students are cases in point.

Consequently, without a solid foundation in ethics and law, students do not have the basic ability to judge the right and wrong of speeches, including those made by their teachers. As teachers are the second closest to students, after parents and friends, the youngsters easily accept and trust their teachers’ words and are easily provoked.