Letters | Why Hong Kong STEM push is justified: scientists are a bigger asset to society than musicians or athletes

  • The Hong Kong education system has long been condemned for not nurturing talented personnel in fields like music or literature
  • But if society demands tree-climbing skills, why spend resources on swimming lessons?

Primary students at Bishop Hall Jubilee School explore different sciences through experiments and investigations, under a “Junior Scientists” programme in 2017. Photo: Handout.

Our education system in Hong Kong has long been condemned for not nurturing talented personnel in fields like music or literature. It is always said that a fish will forever think it’s stupid if we require it to climb a tree. Yet, a lesser mentioned fact is – if society demands tree-climbing skills, why should we spend resources on swimming lessons?

The purpose of common education is to prepare kids for society, to ensure everyone has the basic knowledge to be the changemakers of the future. It makes perfect sense for our government to tip its bias towards the teaching of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or economics, rather than music or sports.
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