Education and schooling in Hong Kong: under one country, two systems.

The 2002 International Focus Issue of Childhood Education focused on children's school experiences around the world. Guest Editors Susan A. Miller and Jillian Rodd located too many excellent articles to include in one issue. Therefore, we have been publishing additional theme-related articles in subsequent issues. This is the last of the series.

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Hong Kong was a British colony for over 150 years until June 1997, when it reverted to the jurisdiction of mainland China as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HK SAR). According to the Basic Law of Hong Kong, under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy, the former British crown colony would still enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all aspects, except for matters of foreign relations and defense. Since the reunification, however, Hong Kong's education system has undergone massive reorientation and extensive reform at all levels in order to meet the needs and challenges of the changing society.

During the political transition period, educators and policymakers have struggled to address issues associated with the role of education, the legitimacy of education policy, the challenge of bringing up citizens in mainland China, the use of English and Putonghua (the national language) in schools, and the potential for future convergence between education in Hong Kong and the motherland (Postiglione, 1992). Other relevant concerns for the future of education in Hong Kong include:

* Restructuring the aims of education to meet the needs of the Hong Kong SAR and China

* Ensuring the smooth transition and interface between the basic education system and senior secondary education

* Increasing overall government expenditures in education, while ensuring appropriate allocation of resources to kindergarten and early childhood development programs

* Consolidating school-based management programs, while allowing for more flexibility and self-governance

* Improving teacher education

* Increasing opportunities in higher education by increasing the quotas for high school graduates

* Strengthening home-school relations and encouraging parents' participation in home-school partnership programs

* Reducing the number of ability groups in schools from the current five to three

* Fostering the educational opportunities of children newly immigrated from mainland China

* Reinforcing the training of teachers in the national language (Putonghua) as well as the teaching and learning of moral and civic education.

Other issues and challenges include the use of information technology in schools, the development of new assessment mechanisms, and revising admission policies. In 2001, a report on the Reform of the Education System in Hong Kong (HK SAR, Education and Manpower Bureau) recommended the following:

* Building an education system that is focused on all-round development and lifelong learning 

* Enhancing the knowledge, abilities, and attitude of all students

* Implementing flexible and diversified curricula to meet students' different learning needs

* Providing multiple learning channels from which students can choose

* Encouraging schools to develop according to their strengths and characteristics

* Developing an international outlook among students.

An Overview of the Education System

Hong Kong has a total population of 6.7 million, within a total land area of only about 1,000 square kilometers, which is about six times the size of Washington, D.C. Education is compulsory and free for all students between the ages of 6 and 15. Children between the ages of 3 to 6 can attend privately run nursery schools or kindergartens. About 1.25 million students are in full-time education, representing 18.5 percent of all students in the territory. Home schooling beyond kindergarten is almost nonexistent, since parents believe children should obtain education through formal schooling and socialization. Students may attend government schools, government-subsidized schools, or private schools, depending on the government allocation and admission scheme. Currently, about 92 percent of junior secondary school students continue their senior secondary or vocational education with the help of government subsidies. However, due to severe competition, only 18 percent of the relevant age group are able to enroll in local universities.

The current education system of Hong Kong is based on the 6+3+2+2 British model (i.e., six years of primary schooling, three years of junior secondary (Form 1 to 3), two years of senior secondary education (Form 4 to 5), and an additional two years of education required for matriculation and preparation of university entrance examinations). All local universities provide three-year training programs for the baccalaureate degree and graduate programs, leading to the master's or doctoral level.

Education and Schooling in a Post-colonial Context

To adapt to its status as an SAR, Hong Kong has been undergoing rapid and radical changes in all aspects of education. The existing educational framework must address a range of new concerns, including mother tongue instruction, restructuring of the 6+3+2+2 model, and abolishing the existing administrative structure of the Education Department. The Education Reform Blueprint released in May 2000 (HK SAR, Education Commission, 2000) recommended changing the existing secondary structure from a 5+2 to a 3+3 system, abolishing the Academic Aptitude Test in primary schools, and reducing the banding (grouping) systems from five bands to three bands in secondary schools. Other proposed changes include introducing a core competency assessment in place of mid-term and final examinations and reducing the two highly competitive territory-wide external examinations taken in secondary school--The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE)--into one comprehensive examination. In addition, some have called for increasing the investment in information technology (IT) for schools and promoting lifelong and multicultural and global education to face strong economic competition from neighboring countries.

Reforming the School Curriculum

Essentially, the school curriculum reform calls for developing a new culture of learning and teaching as well as bringing and strengthening relevant subject contents within the context of the new political situation. The curriculum of many subjects, such as social studies, history, geography, economics and public affairs, civic education, technical education, and language studies, have been revised so that they are not so largely based on the colonial model.

With regard to curriculum planning and time allocation, the government recommends approximately 4,200 hours of total lesson time over 6 years of primary schooling in whole-day schools--23.5 hours per week (or 4.7 hours per day) and 30 teaching weeks per year. According to the Curriculum Develoment Council (2002), the new curriculum framework consists of three components: 1) key learning areas (knowledge/concepts), 2) generic skills, and 3) values and attitudes, together with the following eight key learning areas (KLA), in descending order of importance (in terms of suggested time allocation): a) Chinese language education (time allocation, 25-30%), b) English language education (17-22%), c) mathematics education (12-15%), d) science education, e) technology education, f) personal, social, and humanities education (areas 4-6, 12-15%), g) arts education (10-15%), and h) physical education (5-8%).

In addition, the reform documents recommend that schools use about one-fifth of the school day for activities that meet students' individual needs and contexts (e.g., activities and learning programs for remedial or enrichment purposes, cross-curricular activities, fieldwork, promoting reading, etc.) (HK SAR, Curriculum Development Council, 2000). The school curriculum reform also has encouraged schools to establish interdisciplinary studies of China and to work together with counterpart schools in China. Currently, many schools in Hong Kong are involved in extensive exchange activities and collaboration with mainland schools, such as academic visits and staff development programs.

Developing a Comprehensive and Balanced Curriculum. Many schools in Hong Kong have failed to set priorities in terms of what subjects should be taught in the classroom and how to allocate the time for nonacademic subjects. Most teachers are concerned that the routine curriculum cannot handle the number of subjects, and that too little attention is given to artistic and extracurricular activities and social and personality development.

To avoid curriculum overlapping, new attempts have been made to integrate different subjects, such as the combination of science and technology and humanities into general studies, or the integration of history and culture within Chinese language education. Restructuring the curriculum orientation and maintaining a balance is extremely challenging; change is crucial, however, because the examination-driven and textbook-centered curriculum leaves many students less motivated to learn, and teachers find it difficult to cover all of the content within the school term.

Language Policy, Civic Education, and National Identity. Language policy in education has emerged as one of the most important issues in Hong Kong. The two official languages in Hong Kong are Chinese (mainly the local Cantonese dialect) and English. After the change of sovereignty, Putonghua, the national language of China, became a compulsory subject in all schools. All primary schools have now begun to teach Putonghua in the language curriculum; some schools even have begun to replace Cantonese with Putonghua as the medium of instruction at all grade levels. Putonghua was introduced as one of the subjects in the core curriculum for Primary One, Secondary One, and Secondary Four in 1998; it is now an independent subject under the syllabus of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination.

While the medium of instruction in all public primary schools is Chinese, both Chinese and English are used in secondary schools. Since the reunification, the government has encouraged students to be biliterate (i.e., to master written Chinese and English) and trilingual (i.e., to speak fluent Cantonese, Putonghua, and English).

Many parents and educators oppose the language policy, which allows only 20 percent of secondary schools to use English as a medium of instruction. They regard English as an international language and consider it to be important in both the school and society. Consequently, the government is now providing four additional English language teachers for each Chinese medium school, of whom a maximum of two may be native-speaking English teachers, and is allocating funds for additional English instruction resources.

To prepare learners to think independently and become loyal and responsible Chinese citizens, teachers are now encouraged to teach civic and moral education and develop relevant projects that pair up schools and communities in Hong Kong and China. In 1986, the government established the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education to promote civic awareness; by 2000, the Committee broadened its focus to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, civic responsibilities, good citizenship, a sense of belonging to Hong Kong, and a better understanding of Chinese culture and heritage and the Basic Law (HK SAR, Information Services Department, 2000).

Improving Student Assessment Mechanisms

The traditional education system in Hong Kong has been criticized for its orientation toward rote learning and examination. The questions remain: What should be taught or omitted in the school curriculum? and What forms of assessments should be used?

The Basic Competency Assessments. To ensure learners have achieved the minimum competence throughout their basic education, the government adopted the Basic Competency Assessments, which were to be implemented beginning in June 2002. The assessments were to run through the 2005/06 school year across all grade levels in Chinese, English, and mathematics. A system assessment also could help schools improve remedial programs. Currently, teachers are overwhelmed by frequent examinations and administrative duties, so they do not often make use of broad-based, qualitative assessments (such as flexible formative assessments), nor do they make analytical assessments with specific comments for students.

Two points should be mentioned here regarding teachers' assessment practices. First, due to excessive workload (6 to 7 periods daily), large class size (an average of 35 students), and competition among peer groups, summative evaluation of academic examinations has been the most common criteria adopted for the assessment of students' overall performance. Second, implementation of the public examinations at the end of Form 5 (grade 11) and Form 7 (grade 13) tends to force learners to try and master too many subjects and undergo too many evaluations before promotion to higher grades or admission to universities. Formative assessment is regarded as a critical component in the curriculum implementation as well as an important means for enhancing the teaching and learning process. Recently, efforts also have been made to assess teachers, principals, and schools, although not systematically. In addition, assessment criteria are yet to be modified and substantiated.

Improving the Systems of Public Examinations. As in many other Asian countries, admission to universities in Hong Kong relies to a great extent on competitive public examinations, such as the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE). Some of the important objectives for improving the public examinations include refining the examination process so that students can demonstrate independent and creative thinking, and examining the feasibility of introducing a public examination on Chinese and English languages that covers different levels of proficiency and focuses more on practical applications rather than intellectual knowledge (HK SAR, Education and Manpower Bureau, 2001).

Other recommended alternatives include combining the two external examinations into one, or using some other criteria to assess students' overall performance. On the other hand, since the return of sovereignty, an increasing number of students have been admitted to universities in mainland China by taking the national entrance examinations in Hong Kong.

Enhancing Access and Equity in Schooling

Although almost all children in Hong Kong can now complete a nine-year compulsory education, many of them do not attain satisfactory standing in the high school exit examination. The 2001 population census shows that in Hong Kong, less than one-fifth of the people age 15 and above have completed at least post-secondary education, about half have attained their junior secondary education or below, and the remaining 36 percent are between senior secondary and pre-university level. In view of this circumstance, the government will increase the current 30 percent to 60 percent of senior secondary school graduates who receive their post-secondary education. To improve access to and equity in education, half-day sessions have been expanded to whole-day operations, and there is extra support to meet the needs of newly arrived children from mainland China.

Accelerating the Progress of Whole-day Schooling. Historically, Hong Kong has been a land of immigrants from mainland China. The influx of migrants from the mainland during the 1950s and 1960s strained Hong Kong's ability to provide housing, health care, and education. Starting in the 1970s, schools were restructured to accommodate more children by placing them in either morning or afternoon sessions. A 1981 White Paper on Primary Education and Pre-Primary Services of the colonial government recognized that whole-day schooling would improve the quality and effectiveness of primary education, a finding echoed in 1990 by the Education Commission Report No. 4. Unfortunately, due to unfavorable social, political, and economic conditions, roughly half of the primary schools are still operating in a bi-sessional mode. By building new schools, it is anticipated that all schools will be operating in the whole-day session by the 2007-08 school year. On the other hand, at the secondary school level, the problem of floating classes has yet to be resolved. Due to the classroom shortage, in some schools classrooms might "float." Lessons are conducted with one group of students while the other group is doing out-of-classroom activities, and vice versa. A total of 36 floating classes remain in operation, representing about half of one percent of the classes in public sector schools.

Meeting the Education Needs of Newly Arrived Children (NAC) From China. The influx of immigrant children from the mainland has been on the rise since the handover. Hong Kong immigration policy currently allows about 150 immigrants from China to be admitted daily to Hong Kong under the status of family reunification. Among them, over half are school-age children from suburban or rural areas. Statistics from the Census and Statistics Department (2000) show that a total of 5,378 school-age children were admitted to Hong Kong in 1987; the number soared to 20,132 in 1999, nearly a four-fold increase in 12 years. This drastic increase places immense pressure on the schools, and the social and language background of the newly arrived children makes them an "at-risk" group in the new environment. Many of these children have encountered difficulties in seeking admission to a school. Problems of isolation, acculturation, and integration have been challenges for the host society.

Because of limited resources, the open-door immigration policy has been hotly debated among education practitioners, politicians, and taxpayers. In addition, government-sponsored programs that offer induction courses and remedial training for immigrant families need strengthening, because many of these curricula and services are not as relevant to the families' diverse needs and education backgrounds.

Improving Teacher Education and Professionalism

There is a great concern over the quality and supply of kindergarten and primary teachers in Hong Kong. Because education in the pre-primary sector is not part of the 9-year compulsory program, the government exerts little oversight concerning the quality of kindergarten schools, much less the qualifications of early childhood staff. While secondary teachers receive more specialized training in particular subjects, primary teachers in Hong Kong are trained in a more generalist way, so that they can teach most of the subjects in the schools. Recent statistics reveal that of the 53,656 school teachers in Hong Kong, 8,855 teach kindergarten, 21,367 teach primary, and 23,434 teach secondary (HK SAR, Information Services Department, 2000). Overall, 83 percent of all teachers have received teacher education training, and 53 percent also hold advanced degrees. Only a small number of kindergarten teachers are university graduates (4 percent), although three-quarters of them have obtained teacher training in certificate programs. Among all teachers at the primary level, one-third have university degrees, and the remaining two-thirds possess lower academic qualifications. Untrained teachers constitute about 12 percent of the total work force in the primary sector, with the majority being university graduates, and less than one-third being non-degree holders. The great majority (82 percent) of secondary school teachers, by contrast, already have obtained teacher training and university degrees.

The 1997 Education Commission Report on Quality School Education emphasizes that the professional standards of principals and teachers must be raised in order to safeguard the quality of public school education, and help develop Hong Kong into a learning society and leading financial center in Southeast Asia. Other important recommendations in the report include:

* The Education Department should re-examine the teacher education programs provided by its different divisions to ensure better coordination among and deployment of training resources.

* Schools within the same district, with similar background, or within the same quality circle should be encouraged to explore how inservice training resources can best be pooled (e.g., jointly organized seminars).

* Schools may seek private sector sponsorship for school-based training, according to their needs. The participants of such training programs may be asked to bear part of the training cost. (HK SAR, 1997, pp. 36-37)

Other reform proposals for enhancing the school curriculum and professional training of teachers in Hong Kong are underway. For instance, by the 200102 academic year, all preservice certificate teacher-training programs in Hong Kong were to have been upgraded to degree and above levels. The percentage of qualified kindergarten teachers has increased from 40 percent to 65 percent, the percentage of graduate teaching posts in primary schools has grown from 4.8 percent to 35 percent, and the percentage of graduate teaching posts in secondary schools has been maintained at 70 percent.

In addition, beginning with the 2001-02 school year, all applicants applying to become kindergarten teachers are required to have passed a minimum of five subjects, including Chinese and English, in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). By the 2003-04 school year, all new kindergarten teachers must have acquired the preservice Qualified Kindergarten Teacher (QKT) qualification. Furthermore, to improve the existing teaching and learning environment in preprimary schools, the initiatives on teacher-to-student ratios have been implemented in three stages over a three-year period to bring the 1:20 ratio in nursery classes and the 1:30 ratio in kindergarten classes to a 1:15 ratio.

Beyond the early childhood sector, all graduates of preservice training programs for primary and secondary teachers must be degree holders by 2005. The government has initiated a continuing education policy for the long-term professional development of teachers and administrators. In the future, qualified teachers and administrators will receive tenure, and promotion will be based on performance and merit rather than seniority and recommendation from the principal alone.

Benchmark requirements for teachers' language competence in English and Putonghua were established in 2000. Beginning in the 2004-05 school year, all university graduates seeking teaching jobs must demonstrate their basic language proficiency in English or Putonghua. Current teachers also are required to demonstrate within a five-year period that they have fulfilled the basic level of competence in the areas of English and Putonghua through degree courses, continuous professional development programs, government-subsidized training, or other equivalent language assessments (HK SAR, 2001).

Many teachers are against this benchmark test, considering it a violation of their professional autonomy. Some fear that in the near future, there may be benchmark tests for subjects using Chinese as the medium of instruction. Although the government has finally allowed alternative assessments (such as refresher courses) in lieu of the benchmark test, teachers are still worried about the fair practice of the policy and other contingencies, including what they view as an unreasonable amount of time and effort spent in the refresher training courses, and the fact that the course content does not adequately address the specific needs of their schools. At present, only a handful of inservice teachers have taken the benchmark test.

Interfacing Information Technology in Education

In June 1999, a report by the Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology recommended that the Hong Kong government help promote innovation and technology upgrades. Recent statistics provided by the government vocational training department reveals that in the next five years, there will be a shortage of more than 100,000 professional workers in the IT and finance sectors (Ming Pao Daily, 2001). This report followed on the heels of a government five-year initiative to promote the use of information technology in schools, beginning in June 1998.

The government has urged all schools to have 25 percent of their curriculum taught through information technology by the 2002-03 academic year. A schedule has been set for reviewing the syllabi of various subjects with the aim of integrating information technology components. Moreover, to encourage participation and innovation, a capital sum of HK$ 3.2 billion (or US$ 4 billion) and a recurrent sum of HK$ 500 million (or US$ 61 million) have been reserved. Such investment includes the provision of an average of 40 computers for each primary school, 82 computers for each secondary school (a total of 65,000 computers), over 80,000 training places for teachers, technical assistance to all schools on a contractual basis, and computers in more than 100 community centers for children.

Educational Expenditure and Resource Allocation 

Education takes up the largest share of the government's budget in Hong Kong, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total public expenditure. Tertiary education and secondary education each accounts for about one-third of the total education expenditure, while primary education consumes only one-fifth; the remaining budgets (about 13 percent) are spent on pre-primary, special education, adult education, and technical education (HK SAR, Information Services Department, 2000).

Despite the rise in educational expenditures since the sovereignty change, the portion of the budget for teacher salary and benefits (including pensions and health care, housing allowance, etc.) remains rather high compared to other developed countries. Currently, the starting monthly salary for a primary school teacher is about HK$14,000 (or USS 1,800), which is much greater than the average monthly salary of HK$ 10,000 (or USS 1,200) for most university graduates. Teachers receive 12 months' salary each year. In recent years, attention also has been paid to improving the quality of kindergarten education by subsidizing tuition fees for low-income families, easing the tax burden on non-profit kindergartens, and recruiting qualified teachers and reserving premises in public housing estates for developing new nursery schools and kindergartens. Kindergartens with an enrollment of 30 children may receive a maximum subsidy of HK$ 41,000 (or USS 5,125); however, the subsidy could be increased to HK$ 62,600 (or USS 7,825) if the school promises to employ only qualified teachers. These schools are also entitled to a grant of some HK$ 20,000 (or USS 2,500) for the purchase of library books.

Conclusion

Since the return of sovereignty in 1997, education and schooling have become increasingly critical issues and challenges for Hong Kong. Undoubtedly, the change from colonial status to reintegration with the motherland is a complex and enormous process. While a number of initiatives helped improve education since the political transition, the government has been blamed for implementing changes that have been deemed too extensive and intrusive. While the effects of the changes so far have not been considered as highly significant, there is great consensus among the public that better communication, cooperation, and mutual trust is necessary between government and education stakeholders. The education reform process will involve consultations with students, parents, teachers, and school administrators, counselors, and researchers. Apart from uncertainty in directions and implications for change in education and schooling, Hong Kong will continue to face many problems and challenges as its colonial traditions and legacy meet with a new political climate. The quest for quality education and empowerment of its citizens, and for continuous dialogue between educators and the government, are absolutely essential for the prosperity and future development of Hong Kong.

Box 1:

The Benefits of Whole-day Schooling:
A Primary Teacher
Shares Her Experience

Miss Sarah Mei-Fong Chan, age 32, is a full-time
teacher who used to work in the afternoon program
at the St. Domino Primary School. She found that
the condensed curriculum and the packed schedule
of the half-day program negatively affected
students' motivation to learn. Like the great
majority of teachers in Hong Kong, Sarah had a
teaching load of 32 lessons per week in five subjects:
Chinese, English, arithmetic, general studies,
and physical education. There were seven
35-minute periods each day in school. Morning
classes began at 7:35 a.m. When the morning
session ceased at 12:55 p.m., another shift of
students and school personnel, including principals,
teachers, administrators, counselors, etc. (totaling
over 1,000 people), moved in. The principal
of the day session, Mr. Paul Ma, found the transition
time to be chaotic. With government assistance,
Sarah's school converted to whole-day
operation. The challenge now is to develop a new
school culture of teaching and learning within a
whole-day context. Under the new system, teachers
have 35 teaching periods per week, with each
period 40 minutes long. This arrangement allows
students to take one hour in the late afternoon for
extended learning programs, including library
work, physical education and fitness exercises, the
early intervention program, the gifted program,
student counseling, peer tutoring, and homework
assistance. For extracurricular development in
the afternoon, the school has organized a number
of voluntary activities, including music performance,
drama, calligraphy, Putonghua, English,
Chinese painting, ball games, etc. The average
participation rate for the first term in the 1999/
2000 academic year was 74 percent, and 95 percent
for the second term. Overall, Sarah thinks
that motivation, teacher-student interactions, and
all-round student development could really be
enhanced in whole-day schooling.

Box 2:

Schooling in a Strange New Place:
The Story of Chien From China

Young mainlander Chien Chin-lung was only 10
years old when he moved from the rural village of
Haifeng in the Guangdong Province to live with
family in Hong Kong. He arrived in Hong Kong
during the middle of the 1999-2000 school term and
had difficulties finding a local school where he could
continue his studies. It took Chien more than six
months to secure a school place; in addition, he was
upset because he had to repeat the 4th grade (and be
the oldest student in class), as he did not understand
English or the local Cantonese dialect. Chien became
shy and quiet, especially when teachers asked
him to read and answer questions in front of his
peers. He was afraid he would be teased because of
his accent. Schools in mainland China use
Putonghua, while Cantonese is the norm in Hong
Kong. Chien said, "I have also encountered difficulties
reading textbooks and newspapers since the
complex form, rather than the simplified form, of
Chinese characters [is] used in Hong Kong. Indeed,
Hong Kong is a strange place [where the] vernacular
language [i.e., Cantonese dialect] rather than the
national language [Putonghua] is the medium of
instruction in the schools."

Characteristics of Hong Kong and Mainland China (2001)

                                 HONG KONG            MAINLAND CHINA

Population                       6.7 million          1.2 billion
Population density (people /     6,320                132
  [km.sup.2])
Population growth rate           2.24%                1.7% (1)
Ethnic Composition               98% Chinese          91.9% Han Chinese
                                 2% Other             8.1% Other
Educational Expenditure          22.3% (2)            12.2% (4)
  (% of total gov't
  expenditure)
Percentage of GDP                4.4 (3)              2.5
Total land area in sq. km        1,098                9,326,410
GDP per capital (in U.S.         26,800               3,460
  dollars)
Official Language(s)             Chinese & English    Chinese
Unemployment Rate                6.2%                 8%-10%

Notes:

(1) UNESCO. (1998). Education management profile: People's Republic of
China. Bangkok: UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific. p. 1.

(2) and (3) Figures based on the opening address at the International
Forum on Education Reforms in the Asia-Pacific Region: Globalization,
Localization and Individualization for the Future. The Hong Kong
Institution of Education, February 14, 2001.

(4) Figures are taken from UNESCO statistics in 1993.

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Ramsey D. Koo is Senior Lecturer, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, NT, Hong Kong. Michael C. K. Karo is Lecturer, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, NT, Hong Kong. Ben Cheong Choi is International Coordinator, ACEI Hong Kong & Macau Branch.