Hong Kong students should focus on learning Mandarin with exams at end, says report from China’s Ministry of Education

Latest report produced by team at Guangzhou University also said simplified Chinese should have legal status in city

Teachers in Hong Kong point out that children already learn Mandarin, as well as Cantonese and English

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A Ministry of Education report has suggested that students in Hong Kong should focus on learning Mandarin. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:51pm, 2 Jun 2021Updated: 11:23am, 3 Jun 2021

Hong Kong students need to focus on learning Mandarin under a system where the language is incorporated into the local exam system for primary and secondary pupils, a report commissioned by the state ministry has proposed.

The latest report on the language situation in the Greater Bay Area also suggested simplified Chinese should be granted a legal status in the city, while language policies in Hong Kong and Macau should be enhanced to strengthen national identity.

But educators in the city on Wednesday raised questions over the feasibility of the suggestion by China’s Ministry of Education, arguing that Mandarin was already being taught and teachers needed to be better equipped.

Using Mandarin to replace Cantonese as schools’ main language and introducing simplified Chinese in classrooms has been a controversial issue among educators, parents and students, with many local schools using Cantonese and traditional Chinese for years.

Although most pupils in primary and secondary schools have also already been learning some Mandarin under the city’s language policy since the handover from Britain to China in 1997, it is currently not part of the local university entrance exam system.

People walk up steps at a border crossing facility in Shenzhen, which is part of the Greater Bay Area. Photo: Bloomberg