Hong Kong national security law: 80 per cent of city’s schools say guidelines for instilling patriotism in children are hard to implement
- Survey by pro-government Shine Tak Foundation finds little more than half of city’s schools ready to teach national education
- Education Bureau needs to give teachers more time to prepare and provide better training, charity’s vice-chairman says
Nearly 80 per cent of Hong Kong schools have said new guidelines for instilling patriotism in children were very difficult to implement, a survey has found, prompting calls for more time and training for teachers.
The survey of 218 schools, which was released on Sunday by the pro-government Shine Tak Foundation, found a little more than half of the kindergartens, primary and secondary schools they polled were ready to teach national education.
“We noticed that almost 80 per cent of the schools said there is a certain level of difficulty in teaching national security education,” Tong Sau-chai, the charity’s executive vice-chairman, said. “Among the reasons for this could be a lack of understanding of the matter, or they may need more time to read up on the new syllabus frameworks provided by the Education Bureau.
“And of course there is also a portion [of teachers] who are worried they may be teaching the wrong thing,” he added. “We hope the bureau can give teachers more time to prepare in addition to providing them with training opportunities, and give teachers enough assistance in their relevant subjects.”
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Education officials released detailed guidelines in early February about national security for schools, covering aspects from management to pupils’ behaviour, and suggesting children as young as six should learn about the four offences under the law.
The controversial guidelines, called the “curriculum framework of national security education in Hong Kong”, were described by some as “white terror” and invasive micromanagement of schooling, but proponents said they provided clearer instructions for educators.
In the months since, the bureau has issued syllabus guidelines on incorporating national education for at least 15 subjects, including business and accounting, physics, chemistry, information technology and history.
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On Saturday, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said while the government was currently focused on promoting national education by incorporating it into various subjects, he did not rule out creating a separate subject dedicated to the topic in the future, depending on the needs of pupils.
The Shine Tak Foundation survey, which was carried out between April 28 and May 16, also found 66 per cent of kindergartens and primary schools said there was a lack of professional development for teachers under the national security education framework, and hoped authorities could provide in-person explanation sessions and arrange for teachers to visit mainland China.
More than 90 per cent of all schools surveyed said they hoped the bureau would provide teaching materials.
The Education Bureau said it would take the results of the survey into consideration to better understand the opinions of the schools involved. But it added that as the results showed half of the schools were ready to implement national security education, it was confident they would be able to fully do so by the 2022-23 academic year and continue to improve.
Kelvin Yau Siu-hung, principal of Yan Chai Hospital Wong Wha San Secondary School and the chairman of the New Territories School Heads Association, pointed out the survey was carried out before more syllabus guidelines had been released by the education authorities, which was why so many schools said they were facing difficulties implementing the subject.
But Yau also said the current guidelines did not provide enough teaching examples and urged authorities to hold more sharing sessions between schools, so they could exchange ideas on how to handle national education.
“I know the authorities are planning to do this but they need to give us more time,” he said.
He added that an upcoming progress review in August was too rushed, and that officials should be more flexible and give teachers more time to prepare.
