https://www.scmp.com/rss/506471/feed Opinion pieces, commentary and analysis articles, and interviews with education experts focusing on the issues that concern parents of primary school pupils in Hong Kong and around the world. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Hong Kong schoolteachers have been accused by education authorities of lacking knowledge of the national security curriculum and failing to “naturally” link it to different subjects. Education officials on Friday also hit out at some schools for not “fully referring to” an official national security event planning calendar to help arrange activities designed to boost a sense of patriotism among youngsters. They added that failure to use the calendar meant that pupils’ understanding of important... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3275675/hong-kong-teachers-accused-lack-knowledge-national-security-education-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3275675/hong-kong-teachers-accused-lack-knowledge-national-security-education-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:00:08 +0000 Hong Kong football bosses are investigating a claim of match-fixing involving two teams of primary schoolchildren in a five-a-side tournament. Officials are looking into a game between Kwai Chung district and Tuen Mun district in the All Hong Kong Inter-Area Primary Schools Futsal Competition. Both teams were reportedly told by coaches to lose the match at Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan to avoid playing a stronger side in the next round. Video circulating on social media showed one side... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3248910/hong-kong-schoolchildren-centre-5-side-match-fixing-investigation-coaches-reportedly-ordered-teams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3248910/hong-kong-schoolchildren-centre-5-side-match-fixing-investigation-coaches-reportedly-ordered-teams?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jan 2024 08:11:45 +0000 Two-thirds of applicants have secured their first choice of Hong Kong secondary school through the central allocation system, a slight drop compared with last year, education authorities have said. Pupils will be told their results on Tuesday, but families who were disappointed might find it more difficult this year to directly approach their preferred schools – known as “door-knocking” – after the Education Bureau announced last week it would reduce the number of places available because of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3227176/two-thirds-applicants-get-first-choice-hong-kong-secondary-school-through-central-allocation-system?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3227176/two-thirds-applicants-get-first-choice-hong-kong-secondary-school-through-central-allocation-system?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jul 2023 09:42:53 +0000 Educators have welcomed a move to spare Hong Kong schools hit with falling enrolment from subsidy cuts, saying children may benefit from the better ratio of teachers to pupils due to smaller class sizes. The measure announced by the Education Bureau on Tuesday should lead to more resources to help students, especially those in Primary Six who faced key exams that determined which secondary schools they would join, they said. The bureau also revealed it would axe one place in every Primary One... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3222362/hong-kong-pupils-set-benefit-new-measure-sparing-schools-hit-falling-enrolment-subsidy-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3222362/hong-kong-pupils-set-benefit-new-measure-sparing-schools-hit-falling-enrolment-subsidy-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 May 2023 01:00:17 +0000 Hong Kong education authorities are poised to accept a proposal to axe more than 1,000 classroom places that parents can apply for at preferred schools in a bid to tackle the problem of under-enrolment and risk of closure for less popular ones, the Post has learned. The proposal to halve the present two discretionary places in each class was raised by two influential primary school councils. Parents of children starting primary and secondary education can approach their preferred school if they... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3220879/hong-kong-education-chiefs-set-back-plan-cut-about-1000-places-parents-can-apply-preferred-primary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3220879/hong-kong-education-chiefs-set-back-plan-cut-about-1000-places-parents-can-apply-preferred-primary?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 May 2023 10:32:12 +0000 Schools with shrinking pupil numbers should look at mergers to ensure their survival, Hong Kong education authorities have said. The Education Bureau on Monday highlighted a projected 15 per cent fall in the student population over the next six years. The bureau signalled it would reduce the number of schools in a “gradual and orderly manner” to ensure the best use of taxpayers’ money – but did not give a figure for how many would be axed. “With the changes in Hong Kong’s population structure,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3215031/hong-kong-schools-falling-pupil-numbers-urged-look-mergers-face-gradual-and-orderly-closures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3215031/hong-kong-schools-falling-pupil-numbers-urged-look-mergers-face-gradual-and-orderly-closures?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:22:30 +0000 A small cohort of Hong Kong primary school students enjoyed lunch breaks with their friends for the first time in nearly three years, as they inaugurated the return to in-person, whole-day classes on Thursday. Only 67 of the city’s roughly 500 primary schools have made the switch so far, although the education sector said it expected most to resume full-day classes after the New Year or Lunar New Year holidays, as different activities had already been arranged, while some parents even said they... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3201698/first-hong-kong-primary-school-students-return-full-day-person-classes-after-nearly-3-years-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3201698/first-hong-kong-primary-school-students-return-full-day-person-classes-after-nearly-3-years-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Dec 2022 09:40:47 +0000 Just like that, summer ended almost as quickly as it started for most Hong Kong children. For many families, the two-week summer holiday wasn’t really a break. Rather, it was yet another hectic disruption because “back to school” usually involves a mad dash to get new uniforms and textbooks. For schools, getting classrooms ready and orienting new students means there is no time for teachers to come up for air. But we had our summer break early, you might say. That’s true. The government moved... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3191072/students-and-schools-are-being-failed-hong-kongs-shifting-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3191072/students-and-schools-are-being-failed-hong-kongs-shifting-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2022 22:45:18 +0000 After 20 years as a primary schoolteacher in Hong Kong, Keith*, 47, quit his job a year ago to move with his wife and son to the United Kingdom. That meant giving up a comfortable salary of about HK$60,000 (US$7,643) a month. He also withdrew about HK$2 million from his teachers’ retirement fund, sold his home and disposed of his assets. Recalling how his principal tried dissuading him from leaving, the veteran mathematics and general studies teacher said: “The principal told me it was not easy... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3186763/teacher-exodus-leaves-hong-kong-schools-scrambling-hire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3186763/teacher-exodus-leaves-hong-kong-schools-scrambling-hire?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Jul 2022 02:00:29 +0000 Nicholas Yeung Chin-wang and his classmates shouted for joy when they learned they got into their secondary schools of choice in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning, saying their hard work had paid off after months of switching between campus and remote learning because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 12-year-old pupil at Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road) said he could not sleep on Monday night. “When I was taking the lift back to my classroom [on Tuesday morning], I started getting... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3186610/most-hong-kong-pupils-thrilled-get-secondary-school-choice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3186610/most-hong-kong-pupils-thrilled-get-secondary-school-choice?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jul 2022 05:33:03 +0000 Ninety-four per cent of Hong Kong pupils have been allocated one of their top three choices for secondary schools, a record high satisfaction rate since the system was revamped in 2007. The Education Bureau on Monday said 49,448 eligible Primary Six children joined the secondary school places allocation system for the 2022-23 academic year, down about 2 per cent from last year’s estimated 50,700 pupils. Pupils were allocated places at local secondary schools in two stages. The first batch of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3186485/percentage-hong-kong-pupils-getting-secondary-school-place?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3186485/percentage-hong-kong-pupils-getting-secondary-school-place?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jul 2022 07:44:31 +0000 More than 8,500 Hong Kong students are estimated to have applied for school places in Britain since last September, according to an official report, with the influx attributed to a scheme in the country offering city residents a pathway to citizenship. The report released by the British government this month also revealed the distribution of Hong Kong students who have settled in the country, with Nottinghamshire, Kingston and Solihull as the top three choices, while Surrey and Leeds have the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3182728/bno-scheme-more-8500-hong-kong-students-estimated-have?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3182728/bno-scheme-more-8500-hong-kong-students-estimated-have?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jun 2022 01:25:49 +0000 Almost 90 per cent of six-year-olds have secured a spot at one of their top three choices for primary schools in Hong Kong for the next academic year, the highest success rate in more than a decade. Places at primary schools are allocated according to a two-part process. The first is a discretionary admission phase in November and accounts for nearly half of all six-year-olds. The remaining pupils are assigned spots through a central allocation exercise, with parents listing their choices in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3179337/nearly-90-cent-6-year-olds-hong-kong-allocated-primary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3179337/nearly-90-cent-6-year-olds-hong-kong-allocated-primary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 May 2022 14:30:19 +0000 Kindergartens to secondary schools in Hong Kong will resume half-day, in-person classes in stages until mid-May, with students of higher forms the first to return to campuses, the education chief has said. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced last month that face-to-face classes would return from April 19 at the earliest, beginning with primary and international schools as well as kindergartens, but no further details were revealed. Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3173469/coronavirus-hong-kong-person-classes-kindergartens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3173469/coronavirus-hong-kong-person-classes-kindergartens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Apr 2022 11:25:55 +0000 The turnover rate for native-speaking English teachers working in Hong Kong secondary schools over the last academic year has reached its highest level in eight years at 13 per cent, according to the Education Bureau. The figure was revealed on Wednesday in a written reply from the bureau to lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun. The legislator had previously asked if native-speaking English teachers were leaving Hong Kong because of the city’s strict anti-epidemic measures. The education authority said... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3173278/turnover-rate-native-english-teachers-hong-kong-secondary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3173278/turnover-rate-native-english-teachers-hong-kong-secondary?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Apr 2022 11:56:56 +0000 Hong Kong secondary school heads have called for special arrangements for students sitting university entrance exams who have been affected by the recent Covid-19 outbreak as the city leader announced assessments would be scheduled for late April. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Monday face-to-face classes would resume as early as April 19, beginning with primary and international schools as well as kindergartens. Members of the education sector have cautiously welcomed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3171306/hong-kong-schools-principals-call-special-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3171306/hong-kong-schools-principals-call-special-support?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:22:44 +0000 International and senior students could be allowed to continue their studies online in March and April, when the rest of Hong Kong’s pupils begin their summer holidays under a timetable revised due to the Covid-19 pandemic, after school heads raised strong concerns over disruptions to learning. Local and international school heads reported on Wednesday the likely concession following discussions with education officials, a day after Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced school... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3168141/education-bureau-open-letting-international-and-older?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3168141/education-bureau-open-letting-international-and-older?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:30:21 +0000 Hong Kong primary schools will be allowed to resume full-day, in-person classes if 70 per cent of their students have received at least one dose of the BioNTech vaccine or two jabs of Sinovac, and if the same proportion of staff are also inoculated against Covid-19. The Education Bureau announced its decision in a letter to all schools on Tuesday, with the Chinese-produced Sinovac vaccine made available to children aged five to 11 from last Friday, and the German-made BioNTech jabs to be offered... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3164698/coronavirus-hong-kong-primary-schools-may-resume?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3164698/coronavirus-hong-kong-primary-schools-may-resume?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jan 2022 11:44:21 +0000 Hong Kong’s primary and secondary schools have lost some 6,200 pupils in the four months since the summer holidays amid a broader emigration wave, according to new official figures, with districts having more elite campuses hit the hardest. The latest monthly figures released on Friday by the Education Bureau showed that there were 6,016 and 193 vacancies at secondary and primary schools respectively between August and the end of November. The figures are generally interpreted as the number of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3160184/hong-kong-schools-lost-6200-pupils-four-months-summer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3160184/hong-kong-schools-lost-6200-pupils-four-months-summer?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Dec 2021 13:29:37 +0000 The history of the Nanking massacre should not be taught in junior primary schools, a former Hong Kong education chief has said, after pupils were left distraught by graphic footage of the brutal killings screened in the classroom. Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, former permanent secretary for education and manpower, shared her views with the Post on Monday, as some school heads chose not to show videos provided by the Education Bureau to mark the 84th anniversary of the massacre following an... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3159573/nanking-massacre-should-not-be-taught-young-students?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3159573/nanking-massacre-should-not-be-taught-young-students?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Dec 2021 15:25:16 +0000 Major international schools in Hong Kong are shortening their year-end and other breaks to give expatriate staff a longer summer holiday to return home and still meet the city’s strict quarantine requirements. The schools are worried that teachers unhappy that they could not return home this year because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions might resign over the long separation from their families. The summer holidays are usually six weeks. Many schools are extending next year’s summer break to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3159310/will-hong-kong-lose-expat-teachers-over-strict-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3159310/will-hong-kong-lose-expat-teachers-over-strict-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Dec 2021 08:30:29 +0000 A top adviser to Hong Kong’s leader warned on Sunday that retaining talent in the education sector was an “imminent issue” amid a wave of emigration and the coronavirus pandemic, with travel restrictions forcing some teachers, including expatriates, to quit to reunite with their families. The remarks by Bernard Chan, convenor of the Executive Council, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s de facto cabinet, echoed the concerns of a principals’ group over a brain drain, after its poll of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3158553/brain-drain-hong-kong-education-sector-imminent-issue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3158553/brain-drain-hong-kong-education-sector-imminent-issue?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Dec 2021 13:50:30 +0000 The number of Hong Kong children enrolling in British schools has hit at least an 11-year high, with some being turned away for the first time, according to education consultants. Elite schools in Hong Kong, meanwhile, are feeling the loss of several thousand students who left to study mainly in Britain. Education Bureau data showed that the number of vacancies in primary and secondary schools rose to nearly 5,200 between July and October, meaning more students withdrew after the summer. Hong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3158539/hong-kong-children-turned-away-some-popular-british?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3158539/hong-kong-children-turned-away-some-popular-british?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Dec 2021 13:30:24 +0000 Some Hong Kong parents who received allocation results on Monday said competition for elite campuses in the city remained keen, despite the overall success rate of children securing a place at their preferred primary school hitting an 11-year high. A total of 22,892 children got their first choice in the Primary One places allocation exercise in a year when there were as many as eight pupils competing for one spot in some instances. The overall success rate among the 48,080 students was 47.6 per... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3156956/hong-kong-parents-say-competition-school-places-still?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3156956/hong-kong-parents-say-competition-school-places-still?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Nov 2021 09:19:19 +0000 [Sponsored article] Learning compassion and empathy – values that help us to show care when others are suffering and also understand and share their feelings – forms an important part of a child’s emotional development. Youngsters start to gain the ability to sympathise and empathise with other people between the ages of about three to six – around the time they start to interact with their peers at kindergarten, according to the Hong Kong government’s Family Health Service, which promotes... https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/hong-kong/education/topics/edtalk-hkis/article/3133761/why-its-important-nurture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/hong-kong/education/topics/edtalk-hkis/article/3133761/why-its-important-nurture?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 07:16:45 +0000 [Sponsored article] With studies in 2018 and 2019 revealing that almost one in 10 people in Hong Kong are likely to have depression, and a third of young people in the city are suffering from stress, anxiety or depression, mental health is no longer an issue to be taken lightly. “We’ve got a huge mental health issue globally – and here in Hong Kong – that has been tucked under the carpet for too long,” says Mark Steed, principal of Hong Kong’s Kellett School, who is the latest teaching expert to... https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/hong-kong/education/topics/edtalk-kellett/article/3077080/why-its-time-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/hong-kong/education/topics/edtalk-kellett/article/3077080/why-its-time-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2020 01:00:18 +0000 [Sponsored article] Parents and teachers in Hong Kong were faced with new challenges as they home-schooled and made it easier for children to deal with online learning assignments during the Covid-19 pandemic when schools were suspended for a prolonged time. Pupils at Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong – which caters to preschool and primary schoolchildren aged from three to 11 at its Tseung Kwan O campus – and their families had to cope with the “new normal” as well, but its principal,... https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/hong-kong/education/topics/edtalk-shrewsbury/article/3091166/how-choose-right-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/news/hong-kong/education/topics/edtalk-shrewsbury/article/3091166/how-choose-right-school?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2020 08:49:11 +0000