Hong Kong to rename liberal studies and require students visit mainland China under wide-reaching reforms to subject
- Pupils will also be marked as either pass or fail and all textbooks undergo government vetting, says Kevin Yeung
- Some teachers express alarm over the changes, noting not all align with suggestions made in a three-year review by a task force
Hong Kong will rename the liberal studies programme taught to older students and require they visit mainland China as part of wide-reaching reforms to the controversial subject.
The subject would also be marked as a simple pass or fail, parts of the syllabus trimmed and all textbooks subjected to vetting, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Thursday.
The sweeping changes would be implemented by the next academic year at the earliest but a detailed timeline and the new name were not yet available, Yeung added.
Some educators expressed concern over the reforms, noting certain changes were contrary to recommendations made by a task force in a three-year review of the subject.
But the head of the task force told the Post she “understood” the government’s considerations and she believed officials had still adopted most of its suggestions, including keeping the subject mandatory.