LCQ18: Implementation of national education
7.12.2022

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Tan Yue-heng and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (December 7): Question: There are views that the Government may implement patriotism education in a more lively and flexible manner by organising extra-curricular activities for young people on specific public holidays each year. In addition, the Education Bureau (EDB) has also introduced a National Education &ndash; Event Planning Calendar (the Planning Calendar), which can serve as a basis for primary and secondary schools to draw up their school-based national education activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) whether the primary and secondary schools have fully utilised the Planning Calendar to organise national education activities for their students on key dates this year, such as the Victory Day of Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the National Day; whether the EDB will continue to enrich the contents of the Planning Calendar and provide primary and secondary schools with more supporting resources to organise such activities; if the EDB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has followed up the implementation situation of the school-based national education activities in primary and secondary schools and assessed the effectiveness of such activities, including conducting school inspections and random checks on such activities, etc; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) apart from the school-based national education activities, whether the authorities have plans to increase the number of official national education activities organised on public holidays and introduce more large-scale learning activities in various forms, such as knowledge contests, thematic exhibitions and guided historical tours; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Reply: President, With the use of a multi-pronged and co-ordinated approach, the Education Bureau (EDB) has been adopting diversified and specific measures, including providing curriculum guides, developing learning and teaching resources, offering training for teachers and organising life-wide learning activities for students (including Mainland exchange programmes for teachers and students), to fully support schools in planning and promoting national education within and beyond the classroom through whole-school participation. The consolidated reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Tan Yue-heng is as follows: (1) and (2) The EDB has consolidated the National Education &ndash; Event Planning Calendar and strongly advised schools to refer to it for planning, in a holistic and systematic manner, their school-based national education learning activities inside and outside classroom, which include arranging lessons and school-based learning activities outside the classroom on key dates, as well as participating in national education activities organised by the EDB, various government departments or non-governmental organisations. All these aim to nurture students' sense of national identity, deepen their understanding of the major historical events of our country, and enable them to have accurate knowledge of the constitutional order established by the principle of "one country, two systems", the Constitution and the Basic Law, thereby promoting an awareness of and a sense of responsibility for safeguarding national security. Led by the EDB, Government schools take the lead to launch the "Love Our Home, Treasure Our Country" series of inter-school activities in the 2022/23 school year through a whole-school and inter-school collaborative approach in accordance with the National Education &ndash; Event Planning Calendar to commemorate key national events (including the National Day, the Constitution Day, the Commemoration Day for the Promulgation of the Basic Law, the National Security Education Day and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Establishment Day). The EDB encourages other school sponsoring bodies to play an active and leading role in organising and supporting their schools to implement inter-school national education activities. The EDB has also produced learning and teaching resources and organised activities on the key dates to support schools in teaching related history and arranging school-based educational activities. For example, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR and the National Day, the EDB invited primary and secondary students to participate in the production of music videos "My Motherland and I" and "On the Young China" this year. The two music videos were released on different platforms and the number of views on the EDB YouTube channel alone has reached 200 000. Meanwhile, the EDB continues to organise the National Day Online Quiz Competition. Six hundreds and seven schools with about 113 050 student participants joined the competition in 2022. The year of 2021 marked the 90th anniversary of the September 18 Incident and a special presentation resource kit was produced by the EDB for the occasion. This year, a pilot teaching scheme on the September 18 Incident was also launched to help deepen students' understanding of relevant history through drama. The Nanjing Massacre National Memorial Day is designated on December 13. In 2021, the EDB provided primary and secondary schools with learning and teaching materials, including a presentation resource kit, and suggested activities. The EDB is going to organise commemorative activities for students this year to help teachers and students understand the patriotic spirit manifested by the Chinese soldiers and people in defending our country during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to nurture a sense of belonging and responsibility towards the nation and the Chinese race in teachers and students. The National Security Education Day is designated on April 15. In 2022, the EDB and the Security Bureau co-organised the "2022 Let's Join Hands in Safeguarding National Security" Programme for all teachers and students across the territory. The responses of teachers and students on the "2022 Slogan-cum-Poster Design Competition on National Security" and "2022 National Security Online Quiz Competition" organised under the programme were very positive. The numbers of schools participating in the two competitions were 173 and 456 respectively, with a total of over 58 000 student participants. The EDB and the Security Bureau will continue to co-organise the above activities again in 2023. The content of the National Education &ndash; Event Planning Calendar will be continuously enriched and updated. The EDB will provide schools with relevant supporting resources, including references and examples which have been uploaded to the National Education One-stop Portal for teachers' use on the key dates. Apart from these, the EDB will continue to organise other diversified student activities and provide relevant teacher training and teaching resources to promote national education on all fronts. (3) In respect of evaluation, national education is part of the school curriculum and its evaluation is part and parcel of the routine school work. Under the spirit of empowerment and accountability in school-based management, school management has the responsibility to plan and monitor the work of schools, including the promotion of national education and follow-up on its implementation and further refinement. The EDB will implement the "enhanced School Development and Accountability framework" in the 2022/23 school year to bolster the accountability of staff in publicly-funded schools in providing quality school education and enhancing the national education through the adoption of a whole-school approach. In this regard, all publicly-funded schools should hence assign a dedicated co-ordinator to lead the overall planning work in this school year. Planning at the school level will enhance cross subject/team collaboration, enhance the quality of learning and teaching of national and national security education, and strengthen parent education and home-school co-operation. Different divisions of the EDB have been using various means, such as inspections, school visits and daily communication, to understand how work in schools (including national education) is implemented, and will provide support and suggestions for improvement to schools as necessary.