kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
SED on Primary One admission
3.9.2021

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after attending a Legislative Council Panel on Education meeting today (September 3): Reporter: Secretary, there are news and reports saying that basically some of the Primary One (P1) classes are kind of being cut and there are fewer class numbers. So why do you think the situation is happening? And is there anything to do with some of the education reforms that the Government has rolled out in recent years? What will the Government do in light of the situation to make sure schools can still develop stably in future, and that schools won't be forced to shut down? Secretary for Education: I think there is some misunderstanding on the figures. I noticed that there are some reports on the cuts in the number of Primary One classes. But in fact, the way we calculate the number of P1 classes each year (such as the provisional assumption for the admission process in 2022) is based on the number of P6 classes in the previous year, and also the number of classrooms divided by six, then take whichever is larger. So it is just formula-based. It does not reflect actually the forecast of the (number) of the possible P1 students. What we will be doing is, by the middle of this month, a headcount of the new P1 students, then we will know better (if there is) any major change in the population or the number of students admitted to Primary One. Reporter: My second question, undeniably some students were leaving, so what will the Government do to make sure schools can develop stably looking forward and that schools won't be forced to shut down? Secretary for Education: As I said, we need to do the headcount by the middle of this month before we know exactly the impact on individual schools. Overall we noticed that there have been some saying that there were people migrating to other countries, but I think overall we have measures implemented in previous years to maintain the stability of the sector, especially the primary (school) sector. We have lowered the number of students for each class, and for surplus teachers, we would have a toleration period of three years. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SED speaks on first school day
1.9.2021

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after his visit to Si Yuan School of the Precious Blood on the first school day today (September 1): Reporter: How many schools and when the schools are expected to resume full-day classes? Is it possible to reach a 70 per cent vaccination rate (for students) because some primary school students are not able to be vaccinated because they are younger than 12? Secretary for Education: At this stage, since only children aged over 12 could take the vaccination, when we say that if over 70 per cent of teachers and students have taken the vaccination, they are allowed to have full-day face-to-face lectures or lessons. Obviously, it will not include kindergartens as well as primary schools. However, we will consider the overall pandemic situation and overall situation in Hong Kong. Because when we achieve a higher percentage rate of vaccination, the overall risk will be lower. Then, we could afford to have some relief in the social distancing measures. At the same time, we would consider whether we could have further relaxation in terms of face-to-face lessons in primary schools and kindergartens. We have to see the overall situation before we can take further steps on that. For secondary schools, as most of the students are eligible for taking the vaccine, if secondary schools achieved over 70 per cent of teachers and students having taken the vaccination, then they are allowed to resume full-day face-to-face lessons. They meet the condition to do that. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Sixty-nine students awarded scholarship for excellence (with photos)
26.8.2021

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (August 26) officiated at the Award Presentation Ceremony 2021 of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES). Sixty-nine students were selected as the seventh cohort of awardees. Speaking at the Ceremony, Mr Yeung said that education is the key to nurturing young people into becoming quality citizens with a sense of social responsibility and national identity, an affection for Hong Kong and an international perspective. The HKSES is a vivid example of the Government's effort in cultivating the next generation. He said he looked to the awardees to make the best use of their enriched knowledge and skill sets upon graduation in serving the community. All awardees received their formal secondary school education in Hong Kong, studying either local or non-local curricula. Among them, 55 will be pursuing undergraduate studies and 14 postgraduate studies at world-renowned universities. These include not only top-notch comprehensive universities but also world-class institutions specialising in particular disciplines. The awardees will pursue a wide spectrum of disciplines, with over half of them pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)-related programmes. Other disciplines include law, arts, culture and performing arts, medical and health sciences, and social sciences. The distribution of the awardees by different disciplines is shown in the Annex. A total of 766 applicants competed for this year's HKSES. In addition to outstanding academic performance, the awardees demonstrated excellence in their leadership qualities. As the selection process is ongoing, some more applicants may be offered the scholarship after today's ceremony. A list of the awardees as of today has been uploaded to the HKSES website ( hkses.edb.gov.hk ). First launched in November 2014, the HKSES has been regularised from the 2019/20 academic year onwards. It aims to support local students to pursue studies at world-renowned universities outside Hong Kong with a view to grooming a top cadre of talents with global vision, an international network and world-class education, thereby contributing to enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness as Asia's world city in a globalised knowledge economy. Since its introduction, the HKSES has benefited 639 students. The key features of the scholarship scheme are available at the HKSES website. The application details of the next cohort of the HKSES will be announced shortly.
SED on students banned from HKU campus
7.8.2021

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after attending radio programmes today (August 7): Reporter: Is it fair to the students (members of the Council of the Student Union of the University of Hong Kong) because they haven't been arrested and haven't been convicted? You said it is not a punishment but they can't go into the campus and classrooms. What do you think of that? Secretary for Education: As I said, the University of Hong Kong made the decision due to risk assessment and the control of exposure to unnecessary risks. It made the decision based on its internal procedures and own assessment. So we will respect its decision based on that. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SED on national security education and professional conduct of teachers
26.7.2021

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after attending the closing ceremony of the Glass Bottle Recycle Programme today (July 26): Reporter: Should other universities also follow Hong Kong Baptist University's footsteps to include the new curriculum and if students criticise about the new curriculum, would they be considered violating the National Security Law? And the second question (about a teacher), Mr Muk's comment, how do you feel it? Is it a kind of misconduct of bringing politics into the schools? Secretary for Education: For the universities, the Hong Kong Baptist University President has announced today that they will incorporate national security education in their curriculum. I think this is in accordance to the National Security Law because Article 10 requires all the schools including universities to promote national security education in their schools, so I think for the high education sector , all universities and education institutions are using their own different methods to incorporate national security education in their schools, so that students should have a chance to learn more about national security. Our requirement is for all these education institutions to follow the Hong Kong National Security Law, the requirements under Article 10. In respect of the recent dispute in the community about one of the Olympics participants. I think on that case, one very important thing is that they are now trying very hard to try to get the best result in this competition. And I think the whole Hong Kong, every one of us, should support them and provide them with all our good wishes to get the best result. So far I think the relevant persons have already made a clarification about what has happened. We have to make comments, based on what has actually happened and factual information. And for individual complaint cases against the teachers, of course when we receive them, we will handle them according to our usual practice. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
2020/21 Values Education Prize Presentation Ceremony cum "My Pledge to Act" Annual Sharing Session (with photos)
29.6.2021

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, attended the 2020/21 Values Education Prize Presentation Ceremony cum &ldquo;My Pledge to Act&rdquo; Annual Sharing Session today (June 29). He commended the award-winning schools and students in various values education competitions this school year, and kicked off the activity series of &ldquo;My Pledge to Act&rdquo; for the next school year. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Yeung said that values education is an essential part of the school curriculum, and during the anti-epidemic period, it is particularly important to enable students, through values education, to face adversity with positive attitudes, to uphold positive values, to follow the government's anti-epidemic measures, and to fulfil civic responsibilities. In the 2020/21 school year, about 550 schools have participated in "My Pledge to Act". The Education Bureau (EDB) has organised a number of values education competitions, including "Short Video on Schools' Experience in Promoting Reflections on the COVID-19 Outbreak", "Mascot Creative Sticker Design Competition", and "Law-abidingness and Empathy Poster Design Competition". These activities were well-received by the school sector, with a total of 1,700 entries from 200 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Mr Yeung pointed out that the entries were full of creativity and positive energy. He said he also appreciated that during the epidemic, teachers and parents have proactively participated in cultivating positive values in the next generation, and hoped that more stakeholders will join in the future. At the ceremony, he kicked off "My Pledge to Act (MPA)" for the next school year. The EDB will launch the "MPA Ambassador" school-based award scheme to encourage schools to recognise students who have remarkable performance in fulfilling pledges and upholding positive values and attitudes to become the school's "MPA Ambassadors". The EDB will continue to organise various competitions, such as comic drawing and video-making competitions with the theme of "Be Grateful and Treasure What We Have, Stay Positive and Optimistic", to encourage students to unleash their creativity through different media and bring positive energy to the campus and different corners of the community. The 2020/21 Values Education Prize Presentation Ceremony cum "My Pledge to Act" Annual Sharing Session and the above activities are organised by the Curriculum Development Institute of the EDB. The list of the winners of the above competitions and details of the "My Pledge to Act" 2021 activity series have been uploaded to the EDB's Values Education webpage ( www.edb.gov.hk/en/ve ).
SED visits Shenzhen to strengthen education collaborations (with photos)
25.5.2021

The Secretary for Education (SED), Mr Kevin Yeung, today (May 25) paid a duty visit to Shenzhen to strengthen education collaborations. In the morning, the SED met with the Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau, Mr Chen Qiuming, to exchange views on the latest developments in education and collaborations between the two cities, with a view to capturing the opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area). Items on the agenda covered higher education, vocational and professional education and training, as well as basic education. Mr Yeung said that the HKSAR Government encourages and supports Hong Kong's school sponsoring bodies and post-secondary institutions to engage in the development of the Greater Bay Area, taking part in related projects and providing education services. These would not only nurture talents for the Greater Bay Area but also provide Hong Kong youths with greater room for development. In the afternoon, Mr Yeung officiated at the topping-out ceremony of Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School. The through-train primary-cum-secondary school is expected to come into operation in September this year. He also attended a signing ceremony held by Shenzhen University and Lingnan University to witness the signing of a letter of intent between the two universities on offering joint programmes, establishing a joint institute of advanced studies and exploring the feasibility of establishing a joint campus in the Greater Bay Area. Accompanying Mr Yeung on the visit to Shenzhen were the Deputy Secretary for Education, Mr Esmond Lee; Principal Assistant Secretary for Education, Mr Cheng Ming-keung; and Political Assistant to the SED, Mr Jeff Sze.
Hong Kong team achieves excellent results at Asian Physics Olympiad (with photo)
24.5.2021

A team of eight students representing Hong Kong achieved excellent results in the 21st Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO 2021), winning two gold medals, two silver medals, two bronze medals and two honourable mentions, which is the best result in recent years. The APhO aims to promote physics education as well as nurture and inspire students who are highly talented in physics. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, contestants participated in the APhO 2021 in their own country or city under online monitoring and joined virtual activities from May 17 to 24. Around 181 contestants from 22 countries or cities participated in the competition. Cheng Yat-long (Raimondi College) and Lau Sze-chun (Diocesan Boys' School) won two gold medals in the competition. The two silver medallists were Cheung Man-yin (Queen's College) and Lam Chung-wang (St Paul's Co-educational College). Chan Tsz-chun (International Christian Quality Music Secondary and Primary School) and Gabriel Tong (Sheng Kung Hui Tsang Shiu Tim Secondary School) each won a bronze medal. In addition, Lennon Chan (St Paul's Co-educational College) and Roland Cheung (Sing Yin Secondary School) each received an honourable mention. The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (May 24) on its outstanding performance. "The impressive results achieved by the Hong Kong team in the APhO this year have demonstrated the concerted efforts of different stakeholders in promoting diversified science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. I believe these learning experiences help unleash students' potential in science and technology as well as instil in them a spirit to pursue truth and innovation," Mr Yeung said. "The Education Bureau (EDB) first set up the Gifted Education Fund in 2016 and has so far injected $1.6 billion into the Fund. In the 2019/20 and 2020/21 school years, the Fund has supported 17 off-school advanced learning programmes offered by different post-secondary institutions and organisations. These programmes, targeting gifted students at the primary and secondary levels, unleash their potential through challenging learning activities and enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong in the long run," he added. Members of the Hong Kong team had earlier distinguished themselves in last year's Hong Kong Physics Olympiad, and subsequently received training under the enrichment programme arranged by the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education. The outstanding students in the programme were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the APhO this year. The Hong Kong team's participation in the competition was fully funded by the EDB.
SED visits school on anti-epidemic work (with photos)
21.5.2021

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (May 21) visited Pui Tak Canossian College in Aberdeen to learn about its anti-epidemic work. Taking into account the latest developments of the epidemic, advice of health experts and preparedness of schools, the Education Bureau announced earlier that all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools (including special schools and schools offering a non-local curriculum) as well as private schools offering a non-formal curriculum (commonly known as "tutorial schools") would fully resume half-day face-to-face classes from next Monday (May 24). During the visit, Mr Yeung was briefed by the Principal, Ms Wong Siu-ling, on the school's anti-epidemic work. He also inspected the related measures being put in place on the campus, including body temperature checks, seating arrangements in classrooms, and lesson arrangements and operations in relation to the epidemic. Meanwhile, the Principal and teachers updated him on the latest developments of civic education in the school. He met and exchanged views with the winning students of the Outstanding Student Citizen Award and the Hong Kong Island Outstanding Student Award as well as teachers admitted to the InnoPower@JC: Fellowship for Teachers. The students and teachers also shared their thoughts about joining and promoting civic education activities. Mr Yeung called on all students in Hong Kong to treasure the opportunities of on-campus schooling and interactive learning with classmates, and adapt to the changes and adjust their daily lives gradually with positive and proactive attitudes. Parents and schools should also enhance home-school co-operation to care about the physical and mental health of students and offer support to them. As the epidemic situation may remain unstable, he reiterated that should there be any confirmed case of COVID-19 or outbreak of upper respiratory tract infections in individual schools, the schools concerned still have to suspend classes temporarily and carry out thorough cleaning in accordance with health advice. Teaching staff and students will also be required to undergo compulsory testing for the sake of safety. The Government has earlier expanded the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme and the minimum age for receiving a vaccine is 16. So far more than 2 million doses of vaccine have been administered. Mr Yeung encouraged eligible persons (including teaching staff and students) to get vaccinated as early as possible to protect themselves and others, so as to achieve herd immunity to enhance the safety of the community, families and schools.
SED on national security education and curriculum reform
10.4.2021

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after attending radio programmes today (April 10): Reporter: How should schools...(inaudible) on National Security Education Day? Do you have any specific requirements for schools to do? Secretary for Education: The coming April 15 is the first National Security Education Day after the passing of the Hong Kong National Security Law. We have issued a circular back in March to encourage schools to arrange more activities on that day to introduce the national security concept or more national security education for their students. So schools could arrange, for example, flag-raising ceremonies or some briefings or seminars for their students. Also they could arrange a number of activities for their students to participate so as to know more about the national security education and also this concept. As the Education Bureau, we have also organised two major activities for students to participate. Reporter: There are reports saying that the University Grants Committee (UGC) has issued a circular telling the universities that they will have to teach national security education in order to...(inaudible)? Secretary for Education: I think under the law, article 10 of the law, it has already been said that universities are asked, they have the responsibilities, to help promote national security education to the community including students. Specifically you asked about the communication between the UGC and the universities, I think I am not in a position to comment on that. Reporter: Will teachers be required to strictly follow the school curriculum when they teach the new subject? Also will they be not allowed to teach issues such as Tiananmen Square crackdown or Cultural Revolution...(inaudible)? Secretary for Education: I think in the school's teaching and learning, teachers have to follow the curriculum framework and also to achieve the objective of the curriculum. Within that framework, I think there is still flexibility for teachers to exercise their professional judgement to amend some of the materials to cater for the different needs of their students. In terms of any particular subject or issue whether they could discuss or not, I think that is more a professional judgement of teachers. So long as it is within the curriculum framework, and also it could meet the curriculum objectives and it is suitable for the age group of students, I think that should be OK. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SED continues to meet with education sector on improving Hong Kong's electoral system (with photos/video)
7.4.2021

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (April 7) continued to meet and exchange views with members of the education sector on the work relating to the improvement of the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Mr Yeung hosted a total of four briefing sessions at the Central Government Offices. Participants included the chairman of the University Grants Committee (UGC) and presidents of UGC-funded universities as well as representatives from government advisory bodies on education, school sponsoring bodies and the self-financing post-secondary education sector. Also present were the Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li, and the Under Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin. Mr Yeung said that based on the decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the HKSAR, by amending the local electoral legislation, could enhance the balanced and orderly political participation of the community. It could also put the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" into practice, fully and accurately upholding and implementing the principles of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy. It would be conducive to the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong as well as the sustainable development of all sectors, including the education sector. Mr Yeung said he hoped that with explanations through a number of briefing sessions and other communication channels, members of the education sector could have a better understanding of the matter and support the legislative work.