No deadline for national education

September 08, 2012

The Government has undertaken to uphold the principles of leaving education matters to the education sector, and respecting school autonomy, and will not impose any deadline for implementing the moral and national education subject.
 
It understands the community's concerns over the subject, and the stance and worries of people holding different views. After considering various views, the Government decided to amend the policy on the subject.
 
Under the amended policy, school-sponsoring bodies and schools may decide on their own whether to implement the subject on the basis of their professional judgement, whether it should be launched as a standalone course and, if they chose to implement the subject, determine the format and timetable for its implementation. 
 
The deadline for implementing the subject within three years does not exist.
 
The curriculum guide for the subject the Education Bureau issued earlier will be amended. The Government understands that only the small part of the curriculum guide on national education had aroused concerns. The bureau will review it and make appropriate amendments.
 
Out of respect for schools' autonomy and professional judgement, if they want to make reference to the existing guide or any other materials that they considered appropriate in preparing their own teaching materials, the Government should not and could not force them to do otherwise. There was no question of "withdrawing" the guide.
 
The Government appreciated that the above amendments to the policy and the review of the curriculum guide might give rise to technical problems for school-sponsoring bodies, including the use of resources. The bureau would, pursuant to the principles of respecting school autonomy and supporting school decisions, offer suggestions to schools as soon as possible.
 
As regards individual allegations that the Government might exert undue pressure or make use of financial incentives to force schools to implement this subject, the Government stressed that the implementation of this subject was definitely not a political mission. It maintains a high degree of transparency in allocating funds to schools and in its communications with them. All these allegations are fictitious and groundless.