Letters | Why Hong Kong schools must reduce class size

Readers discuss how Hong Kong schools should respond to demographic change, student interns’ labour rights, and Malaysia’s bright outlook

Hong Kong

Letters

Published: 11:30am, 27 Dec 2022

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News of Hong Kong schools axing more than 40 Form One classes may have cast a pall over society. Ultimately, this trend could expand to tertiary education and jeopardise the jobs of educators and the labour supply. Speaking as a lecturer in English, it is my view that popularising small class teaching can help mitigate the effects of this trend.

Firstly, reducing class sizes to around 20 students would enhance the English competence of students. University graduates’ declining English ability has been a common complaint among employers. In my past teaching experience, a university English class would usually have 30 or even 40 students. A large class inevitably means that students have fewer opportunities to receive feedback. In class, lecturers cannot observe student progress and offer individual assistance. When it comes to assignments, teachers are unable to provide detailed advice due to time constraints. The number of assignments is also limited because of instructors’ workloads.

All this can be averted if class sizes are halved. Diverse learning outcomes can be minimised to ensure no one lags behind. Out-of-class support is more feasible. From a social perspective, if students learn effectively and acquire professional English skills, our future workforce will be more skilled. After all, it is the quality, not just the quantity, of a labour population that matters, especially in a city with high-end sectors like Hong Kong.

Take the tourism and aviation industries in Hong Kong as an example. After the once-in-a-century pandemic pushed many tour guides and aviation professionals out of their industries, travel businesses and airlines are now facing labour shortages and struggling to restart, despite the recent resumption of normalcy. It might take the industries a few years to fully recover.

In sum, the Education Bureau and postsecondary institutions should respond to demographic change promptly, before another wave of exodus begins that might have an irreversible impact on the much-touted quality of our education sector.

Alison Ng, assistant lecturer, Centre for Applied English Studies, University of Hong Kong

Protect Hong Kong’s student interns, and pay them

We refer to the letter, “Hong Kong’s food delivery riders deserve a better deal” (November 14). We agree with your correspondent that gig workers under flexible work arrangements should be better protected. We would like to advocate for the rights of another group of unconventional workers who receive inadequate protection: student interns who are not covered by the Minimum Wage Ordinance.

In Hong Kong, students may work as unpaid interns in training programmes endorsed by their schools. Work experience students may also work for no more than a continuous period of 59 days in a year as unpaid interns without school endorsement.

In response to our enquiries on how the government protects the rights of these unpaid interns, the Labour Department refers to the obligations of employers to pay the student interns outside the period of exemption from the Minimum Wage Ordinance. No information is available about what services have been offered specifically to the interns not covered by the minimum wage requirement.

While the department offers consultation and mediation services to resolve employer-employee disputes, it does not track the number of student interns served, making it impossible to assess how well supported the interns are.

As university students, we believe that all student interns in Hong Kong should be paid so that the value of their work is recognised and their rights as employees are legally protected. While most government departments and bureaus offer paid summer internships to university students, we believe the government should also require all publicly funded organisations including universities and social enterprises to compensate the work of their interns. The Labour Department should consider expanding its Work Trial Scheme, which sponsors work opportunities for those struggling to find jobs, to support student internships.

Eva Chu, Natalie Tse and Amy Cheung, Kowloon Tong

With Anwar in charge, harmony will reign in Malaysia

I have been following the politics of Malaysia since I left home in 1968, knowing I would not have a future there because of racism and corruption.

At last, Malaysia has a competent new prime minister in Anwar Ibrahim. He is intelligent, hardworking and has been making practical efforts to restore the country after the corruption scandal linked to a previous prime minister. The new prime minister has the task of improving the economy and equality, so Malaysia will once again be a country where all Malaysians, be they Chinese, Indian, Christian or Malay Muslim, live in harmony.

Malaysia has many resources and products such as rubber, palm oil, pineapple, oil and gas. If Anwar succeeds in getting rid of corruption among all government officials, it will attract foreign investors to do business in the country, thus helping to improve job creation and the economy.

I know Malaysia will once again regain self-respect and international recognition under the administration of a competent prime minister.

Let’s hope opposition parties won’t interfere in his plans and attack him without good cause. I wish Anwar every success. I have faith in him and that all Malaysians will live in harmony.

Mee Wan Loh, Alberta, Canada