kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
SED visits Hok Yau Club to show support for HKDSE Examination candidates (with photo)
19.7.2022

The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, visited Hok Yau Club's Student Guidance Centre today (July 19), a day before the release of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination results, to learn about its counselling services and to show support for candidates who receive such services. Accompanied by Chairman of Hok Yau Club and Legislative Council Member Dr Simon Hoey Lee, Dr Choi toured the Student Guidance Centre and was briefed on its facilities and services, including the further studies and career information centre, the counselling hotline and information services covering publications on examination preparation and further studies. Dr Choi thanked Hok Yau Club for providing guidance services since 1982, helping generations of candidates of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination and the HKDSE Examination. This year, in addition to setting up 38 telephone counselling hotlines, Hok Yau Club has enhanced its online counselling services by adding a visual meeting and live chat platform to cater for the social habits of students living in the new normal. While joining a visual meeting, Dr Choi took the opportunity to thank the counsellors and greet the candidates online with best wishes and encouragement. Dr Choi said, "Candidates of the current-year HKDSE Examination have faced many challenges, with their three-year senior secondary school life affected by the epidemic. To this end, the Government has joined forces with schools and voluntary organisations to support them and strengthen measures to ensure the smooth conduct of the HKDSE Examination and completion of their secondary education. "Students may inevitably be anxious before and after the release of examination results. I hope that all of them can relax, in view of the abundant opportunities for further studies and development. If needed, they may talk to their teachers or voluntary organisations. This not only reduces the stress, but also helps them map out their future in a calm manner." A total of around 50 000 candidates entered the HKDSE Examination this year. Various institutions have prepared different types of courses providing around 62 000 places in total, allowing students to select a suitable pathway based on their abilities and interests. Dr Choi encouraged candidates to come up with their own development blueprint, given the diversified study pathways with multiple entry and exit points. She said she was confident that with determination and perseverance they would succeed in whichever pathway they choose.
SED on national education
17.7.2022

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (July 17): Reporter: Ms Choi, can you explain how Hong Kong can strengthen national education given President Xi's remarks? And some people may amount that to brainwashing. Do you actually agree with that? Secretary for Education: National education is always a very important area that we have to work for. For example, we will update our curriculum, enhance our learning and teaching materials, (provide) more teacher professional training and more activities for our students to have knowledge about our country from different perspectives. I don't think it is a brainwashing element. Reporter: Can you explain why there is no such (brainwashing)? Secretary for Education: They have life-wide learning experiences, first-hand information that they collect. They can have reflections after their learning. I don't think that it is brainwashing. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SED pays home visits under Celebrations for All project in Kowloon City District (with photos/video)
17.6.2022

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, paid home visits in Kowloon City District today (June 17) as part of the Celebrations for All project to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with local residents. Accompanied by the District Officer (Kowloon City), Miss Alice Choi, and the Chairman of the Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, Mr Chan Kin-ping, Mr Yeung visited many grass-roots families, including ethnic minority, single-parent and low-income families residing in Kowloon City Road and Yin On Street. He took the opportunity to learn about their daily lives and needs and presented them with gift packs on behalf of the HKSAR Government. "After Hong Kong's return to the motherland, I served as the District Officer (Kowloon City) for three years, and I am also currently a resident of the district. I love the district very much for its diversified and inclusive culture. I felt very much at home today when I joined enthusiastic district personalities to visit our neighbours and conveyed to them our blessings and greetings," Mr Yeung said. He pointed out that Kowloon City is one of the districts that can best demonstrate the achievements of the HKSAR over the past 25 years. After the relocation of the airport to Chek Lap Kok, the Kai Tak Development (KTD) has started a new chapter with the opening of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and MTR Kai Tak Station, as well as commercial and residential buildings. With the completion of the Kai Tak Sports Park and Metro Park soon, one can see from the KTD, like Hong Kong, a prosperous and promising future, he said. The Celebrations for All project is one of the major events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR. The 18 District Offices, together with non-governmental organisations in the districts and community organisations, are holding various kinds of activities to demonstrate care for the underprivileged, including visiting 300 000 grass-roots families, arranging for around 80 000 grass-roots citizens to participate in territory-wide celebratory events, and arranging for around 120 000 persons from underprivileged groups to participate in district celebratory events to share the festive mood.
EDB officer tests positive for COVID-19
5.3.2022

The Education Bureau (EDB) said today (March 5) that a staff member of the Secretary for Education's Office has tested positive for COVID-19 with a rapid test. The officer is the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary for Education. He does not need to have contact with the public in his daily work and has no recent travel history. He wore masks and followed relevant disease prevention measures at work, and last performed duties yesterday (March 4). The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, has been taking COVID-19 rapid tests every day and the results are all negative. The EDB has acted in accordance with the advice of the Centre for Health Protection to arrange thorough cleansing and disinfection on the floor concerned and all the staff working on that floor to undergo tests.
SED encourages students to receive COVID-19 vaccination (with photos)
25.2.2022

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, visited Shau Kei Wan Government Primary School (SKWGPS) today (February 25) to inspect the implementation of the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS) School Outreach. Being the first government primary school to serve as a hub school under the VSS School Outreach to forge a partnership between the primary schools and kindergartens (KGs), SKWGPS arranged vaccination service today for its students, totalling around 170, as well as 90 others from three KGs in the same district. There were also around 20 parents and staff members from the four schools who received vaccination on the campus. Mr Yeung said that the Education Bureau (EDB), as the school sponsoring body of government schools, hoped government schools can serve as an example to encourage schools to help students of other schools, especially KGs with a relatively small number of students, to get vaccinated through collaboration under the VSS School Outreach. This can also relieve the burden on medical professionals who usually have to provide services in different places. He added, "The EDB has recently contacted some school sponsoring bodies, schools and related organisations to promote this and provide support. I understand that more collaborations of this kind to help students receive vaccination are in the pipeline. These include various operations initiated by civic organisations which join forces with the Government to mobilise all available manpower and resources to fight against the epidemic. "I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all stakeholders, and my gratitude to the medical staff for providing the service for the students. I call on parents and students to seize the opportunity to get vaccinated. Though face-to-face classes are still suspended in schools, everyone should get vaccinated as soon as possible to safeguard health and life amid the severe epidemic situation in the community." Schools may contact on their own, or through the EDB, doctors providing on-site vaccination of Sinovac for arranging services. In addition, the Government will continue to provide schools with appointment service for vaccination and transportation between vaccination centres and schools. COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Stations also provide outreach vaccination services at schools. Apart from arrangements through schools, parents and guardians can also make bookings on their own for their children/wards to receive COVID-19 vaccines at vaccination centres or private doctors/clinics.
SED expresses sorrow over passing of Dr Tong Wai-ki
19.1.2022

The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (January 19) expressed deep sorrow over the passing of the Chairman of the Hong Kong Taoist Association (HKTA), Dr Tong Wai-ki. Mr Yeung said, "Dr Tong has actively participated in charitable activities and social services, and made significant contributions to education. Being one of the major school sponsoring bodies in Hong Kong, the HKTA is operating five secondary schools, five primary schools and four kindergartens with the mission of bringing up students with both ability and integrity. Numerous talents have been nurtured over the years. "I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Tong for his contributions to society, and extend my deepest condolences to his family."
Statement by PA to SED
8.1.2022

The Political Assistant to the Secretary for Education, Mr Jeff Sze Chun-fai, today (January 8) said, "I briefly stayed at a birthday gathering in Wan Chai at around 6pm on January 3. In view of the situation where individual participants of the gathering had been tested positive or tested preliminarily positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus involving mutant strains, I will fully co-operate with the arrangement made by the Centre for Health Protection by undergoing quarantine at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre." "Hong Kong is currently facing severe epidemic situation. I apologise to the community for the additional burden to the anti-epidemic work caused by the incident. I have reflected on the experience and will step up vigilance in the future."
EDB holds "Positive Parent Campaign" Activity Day cum Prize Presentation Ceremony (with photos)
17.12.2023

The Education Bureau (EDB) held the "Positive Parent Campaign" Activity Day cum Prize Presentation Ceremony today (December 17) with around 360 parents and children stitching crochet squares into scarves together. The scarves will be sent to the elderly residing in care homes of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals or living alone as a token of warm wishes during visits being arranged by the EDB. During the ceremony, prizes were also presented to the award-winning schools, students and parents joining the collection of crochet squares and parent-child games. This was followed by the kick-off ceremony of the parent-child visiting the elderly programme. To show harmony across generations, the Intergenerational Dance Floor of Po Leung Kuk was invited to perform and share their feelings. Speaking at the ceremony, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said that good parent-child relationship can enhance the mental health of children. She encouraged parents to create happy childhood memories to heighten their children's sense of well-being through various parent-child activities, enabling children to thrive and shine in a healthy and happy environment. The EDB will further promote positive parent education and encourage parents to adopt positive parenting approaches in nurturing children in order to build a bright future together. Earlier, the EDB had organised the "Warm Stitches, Grateful Hearts" Parent-child Crochet Activity and encouraged parents and children to make crochet squares together. The activity was extremely well received with over 10 000 crochet squares submitted by around 3 000 students and parents from over 90 schools. Participants stitched the crochet squares into scarves together today during the ceremony and many works were uniquely designed. In order to convey warm wishes and promote the culture of harmony across generations, the EDB will make arrangements to invite parents and children to visit the elderly, and to give the scarves to the elderly residing in the care homes of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals or living alone. The EDB hopes to encourage parents to cultivate their children with the virtue of compassion and helpfulness, and to express gratitude through actions. Other attending guests included the Chairman of the Committee on Home-School Co-operation, Mr Eugene Fong, and representatives of the Kowloon Region School Heads Association, the New Territories School Heads Association and the Hong Kong Island School Heads Association. The EDB has been running the Positive Parent Campaign since June 2020 and promoting positive parent education through extensive and diversified channels to foster parents' positive thinking to help their children grow up happily. For the updates of activities of the Positive Parent Campaign, please visit the EDB Smart Parent Net website ( www.parent.edu.hk/en ).
Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education opens for applications
14.12.2023

The Education Bureau (EDB) today (December 14) announced that the 2023/24 round of applications under the Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education opens for applications from today to April 16, 2024. The Scheme aims to provide financial support for eligible self-financing post-secondary education institutions to develop and enhance programmes that meet market needs but require high start-up costs, and help alleviate the institutions' need to fully recover the set-up costs from tuition fees, thus relieving the financial burden on students. It also supports institutions to better develop their own strengths and niche areas, strengthening strategic co-ordination between institutions. Eligible institutions are as follows: (a) Hong Kong Metropolitan University; (b) approved post-secondary colleges under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320); and (c) post-secondary institutions registered under the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279). The Scheme subsidises full-time locally accredited local self-financing sub-degree and undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes, covering both the development of new programmes and the enhancement of existing ones. With a view to enhancing the teaching and learning in designated academic areas, it supports projects of the following nature: (a) significant development/enhancement of programme curriculum and pedagogies; (b) recruitment/professional development of faculty members and teaching staff; (c) procurement/upgrade of market-standard equipment/facilities to meet academic and professional requirements; (d) provision of new/improvement to existing discipline-specific campus facilities/infrastructure; and (e) other relevant discipline-specific expenditure areas that are in alignment with the objective of the scheme. Funding for each proposal will generally be subject to a cap of $42 million. The Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education will give advice to the Secretary for Education regarding the comparative merits of the proposals. In the 2022/23 round of applications, two out of eight applications were approved with a total grant of about $57 million. They covered the game design and engineering sectors, which are conducive to catering for the keen manpower demands of the relevant industries. Details of the projects are as follows: Institution Project Approved grant (in million dollars) Hong Kong Metropolitan University Establishment of an Industrial Centre for New Industrialisation - Development of a New Programme and Enhancement of Existing Programmes 37.2 Hong Kong Shue Yan University Development of Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Digital Solutions for Entertainment and Game Applications 19.5 The EDB will maintain close liaison with relevant institutions to make best use of the resources of the Scheme and launch the relevant programmes as soon as practicable. Further details of the Scheme and the approved projects can be found at the designated website ( www.cspe.edu.hk/en/esgs.html ).
SED congratulates Hong Kong team on their triumphs at International Junior Science Olympiad (with photo)
14.12.2023

A team of six students representing Hong Kong achieved outstanding results in the 20th International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO 2023), making the best results since 2018 by winning a total of three gold, two silver and one bronze medals. The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (December 14) on their excellent performance. Jayden Kong (St. Paul's Co-educational College), Lai Yat-long (Po Leung Kuk Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College) and Sung Tsz-ngo (Diocesan Boys' School) each won a gold medal. Silver medallists were Inna Belle Lee (St. Paul's Co-educational College) and Marcus Tsang (Ying Wa College) while Joycelyn Sun (Munsang College) won a bronze medal. "The impressive results of the Hong Kong team in IJSO 2023 have demonstrated our students' exceptional talent in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics). The Education Bureau (EDB) will continue to step up the promotion of STEAM education in primary and secondary schools and equip students with necessary skills for the new era. This includes the further promotion of the setting up of a school-based talent pool in schools, further enhancing the identification of students with potential in STEAM, making arrangements for these students to participate in systematic training and competitions of reasonable scale, so as to nurture more STEAM talent and strengthen our innovation and technology (I&T) capabilities," Dr Choi said. "The EDB has been attaching great importance to the grooming of gifted students. To further promote the development of gifted education, the EDB has provided an additional injection of $600 million into the Gifted Education Fund this year to strengthen the collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) and offer more diversified, high-quality and challenging off-school education services, particularly in STEAM-related areas. Enhanced efforts will be made to foster gifted students with potential in STEAM and to nurture future I&T talent for Hong Kong," she added. The IJSO is a science competition for secondary students aged 15 or below. The competition, covering physics, chemistry and biology up to the senior secondary level, comprises written assessments and science experiments on unfamiliar problems that require analytical and problem-solving skills. The IJSO 2023 was held in Thailand from December 1 to 10 with the participation of 304 contestants from 54 countries or regions. The members of the Hong Kong team achieved excellent results in the International Junior Science Olympiad - Hong Kong Screening last year. They subsequently completed the science enhancement programmes provided by the HKAGE. The outstanding students in the programmes were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the IJSO 2023. The Hong Kong team was fully funded by the EDB to join this competition.
SED attends launch symposium on latest PISA results in Asia in Japan (with photos)
6.12.2023

The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, today (December 6) attended the launch symposium on the latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Asia at the University of Tokyo, Japan, to discuss the way forward for education with representatives of the education sector from other regions. Organised by the University of Tokyo and co-organised by the OECD, the symposium brought together around 500 participants from, among others, the education and business sectors around the world. At the panel discussion session of the symposium, Dr Choi talked about how the Hong Kong education system supports students' learning and wellbeing. She said that the PISA 2022 results reaffirmed the merits of the Hong Kong education system. In terms of education equity, Hong Kong ranked second among countries or economies with high academic achievements, indicating that the socio-economic status of Hong Kong students has minimal bearing on their performance. She pointed out that the Education Bureau (EDB) has been optimising the school curriculum and proactively implementing various student development programmes to nurture students with positive thinking and to strengthen their resilience. The EDB also assists schools in providing comprehensive student guidance and support services through the Whole School Approach and multidisciplinary collaboration. In addition, the EDB has strengthened the promotion of home-school co-operation and parent education as well as cross-sectoral collaboration to support students with mental health needs. "The EDB will continue to work with various stakeholders to create a support network and to foster an accepting and caring school culture for students, enhancing their physical and psychological wellbeing through concerted efforts," she said. Yesterday (December 5), Dr Choi paid a courtesy call on the President and Board Chairperson of the Japan-China Friendship Center, Mr Masashi Ogawa. The Japanese Government has entrusted the Center to organise the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths Programme and has invited Hong Kong students to join the Programme since 2008. This year, the Hong Kong delegation will depart for Japan to conduct exchange activities from December 10 to 16. Dr Choi also met Hong Kong students and youngsters studying and working in Japan to learn about their study and life experiences in the country. Tomorrow (December 7), Dr Choi will pay a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Mr Wu Jianghao, and meet the Superintendent of the Saitama City Board of Education, Ms Hideko Takei, to exchange views on education issues. She will also visit Saitama Municipal Omiya International Secondary School to observe class activities and tour the school facilities. Dr Choi will return to Hong Kong on Friday afternoon (December 8).
SED visits Japan to attend launch symposium on latest OECD PISA results in Asia
4.12.2023

The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, will depart for Tokyo, Japan, tomorrow (December 5) to attend the launch symposium on the latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD PISA) in Asia. She will also attend the panel discussion session. During the trip, Dr Choi will visit local schools and education units, and meet Hong Kong students studying in Japan. Dr Choi will return to Hong Kong on Friday afternoon (December 8). During her absence, the Under Secretary for Education, Mr Sze Chun-fai, will be the Acting Secretary for Education.