Father chooses private education for son over Hong Kong's 'spoon-fed' school system
11-year-old Nathan Lee For-shing prefers the nontraditional and flexible curriculum of the Hong Kong Memory Association
The father of an 11-year-old boy is so frustrated with Hong Kong's education system that he has applied to the Education Bureau for his son to be exempted from enrolment in mainstream schools.
Instead, the boy, Nathan Lee For-shing, has been studying for a month at a private education centre which uses unorthodox techniques to facilitate learning.
The centre, run by the Hong Kong Memory Study Association, teaches pupils English spelling by asking them to draft stories with words given by the teacher. Unlike traditional mainstream schools, the association does not assign homework.
"He will not be able to have his potential developed [in mainstream schools]," said Michael Lee, the boy's father, adding that the education system was "spoon-fed and rigid".
Nathan came to Hong Kong from the mainland in May after he and his mother were both granted permits to move to the city. His father, 43, is a Hong Kong resident.
Soon after the younger Lee arrived in Hong Kong, his father tried to enrol his son in a mainstream school as local laws require children to go through nine years of compulsory education up until Form Three in secondary school.
Learning can be so much fun
The problem is that the 10 schools the pair approached at the time said that entry exams would only take place this month.
The elder Lee then heard of a free talk organised by the association and attended it with his son.
Both of them agreed that it would be preferable to attend classes at the association because the classes there were more fun and flexible.
"I have already taken some classes here and I realised that learning can be so much fun," Nathan said.
He did not enjoy his time studying at a mainstream school on the mainland.
"On normal days I finished my homework at 11pm or midnight," Nathan said of his studies on the mainland.
The association's chairwoman, Lee Yuk-kuen, denied taking advantage of the boy to promote its services. She was speaking at a press conference attended by Nathan and his father. She said she wanted to let the public know that learning could be fun.
Nathan's curriculum was designed by the association specifically for him at a cost of HK$1,900 a month.
The boy goes to the centre from Tuesday to Sunday, starting at 10am and finishing at 5pm. He attends a one-on-one class in the morning and a small-group session with about 10 children in the afternoon.
Under the Education Ordinance, the permanent secretary for education has the power to order a child to attend school if he or she "is not attending primary school or secondary school without any reasonable excuse".
Barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung said it was debatable whether the association could be defined as a "school".
"This case will depend on whether the bureau thinks the mode of education offered by the association is proper education."
A spokesman for the Education Bureau said it would not comment on specific cases.
