Former executive councillor Ronald Arculli highlights triple challenge facing Hong Kong
Ronald Arculli tells Post forum that city must re-examine its education system, tackle challenges of an ageing population and increase competitiveness
Re-examining education, tackling the challenges of an ageing population and increasing Hong Kong’s competitiveness are three things a former executive councillor said he would try to fix if he were chief executive.
Conflict on whether to teach children in their mother tongue has led to poor English and Chinese language skills among Hong Kong students, according to King and Wood Mallesons senior partner Ronald Arculli, who has served on both the Executive and Legislative councils..
“All parents prefer non-mother-tongue because we’re a business centre, and therefore they prefer English,” he said. “But the professional teachers prefer mother-tongue and as a result ... university students cannot put together a one-page letter in English or Chinese. [So] we lose out on both.”
Ferocious competition for international school places – resulting in extremely high debentures – was hurting Hong Kong’s ability to retain talent, he said.