Hong Kong government to target teaching materials deemed politically biased
- Undersecretary for Education says schools could be told to stop using certain materials, submit reports, and clarify situation for parents
- Education Bureau could require schools to review materials
Hong Kong schools accused of using teaching materials deemed politically biased could be made to submit reports, hold meetings or even issue statements addressing parents’ concerns, a top education official said on Friday.
Undersecretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin’s remarks came during a Legislative Council education panel meeting, and she also said the government would consider implementing a mandatory review of all textbooks for the controversial Liberal Studies subject after the introduction of a fresh voluntary textbook review scheme.
That came as the Education Bureau revealed on Friday that one of the seven publishers participating in the voluntary scheme, Pearson Education Asia, had withdrawn “based on commercial reasons”. The Post has contacted the publisher for comment.
“When the Education Bureau receives complaints over biased teaching materials, if the incidents are confirmed to be true, schools would be asked to immediately stop using and remove them, or even to clarify and explain to parents by issuing statements,” Choi said.
“If the situation is serious, or if it involved negligence by the school, then we would also require the school to clearly explain to teachers during a meeting as well as review and improve the existing mechanism on gatekeeping [for teaching materials].”
