Tuen Mun school petitioned to drop national education classes
National education classes began a few days ago, but already hundreds want them shelved
A direct-subsidy school is under pressure to scrap the national education curriculum days after the government announced schools would be free to decide whether to start the subject.
About 300 parents and other concerned parties signed a petition against the decision by PLK HKTA Yuen Yuen Primary School to rename its moral and personality development curriculum moral and national education.
"Why is it in such a haste to start it when the curriculum is not ready?" one of the petition organisers, Vivian Siu, said.
She said overseas parents whose children studied at the Tuen Mun school had been kept in the dark about the changes.
Fermi Wong Wai-fun, of minorities support group Unison, said the government must not ignore identity-building issues among non-Chinese students, especially younger ones.
"What if a Pakistani student is being harassed if he fails to show passion about China?" Wong, spokeswoman for Unison, asked.