Hong Kong's Shrinking Primary Schools

There are fewer Primary One students in Hong Kong this year

School has started in Hong Kong with a lot fewer students.

The latest statistic? Seventy -- 70 -- Primary One classes in 66 schools were scrapped for this academic year. Ten of the 70 schools either only had a single Primary One class or none at all.

The numbers were from data compiled from 453 public and government-aided primary schools and shows the number of families who have left permanently, as well as the birth rate continuing to decline. In 2022 it dropped to 32,500, though it rose slightly the following year to 33,200.

Most of this year's Primary One students were born in 2018, when 53,700 were born, but 40,293 have signed up for public school.

"The shrinking student population is still a serious problem for the sector and the number of pupils enrolled in Primary One in the coming years will continue to fall," said Chu Kwok-keung, a school principal and lawmaker representing the education sector.

Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin doesn't deny it, saying that three to four primary and secondary schools would close in the next five years, and she expected the student population to continue to fall.

Teachers could become endangered species in Hong Kong...

This Time Sing with Emotion

Students must sing the national anthem "with emotion"

Students in Hong Kong started school today, and they were instructed to sing the national anthem "with emotion" during the flag-raising ceremonies.

"On some occasions, we call it 'playing the national anthem'. On others, we call it 'playing and singing the national anthem," Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said during a radio show.

Choi says students should not sing in a low voice

"Sometimes, students may be unaware of the occasion. Students sing in a low voice and are unsure whether they should sing it or not. After a reminder, everyone knows they should sing the national anthem solemnly and with emotion during the ceremony."

Back in June, the Education Bureau complained students in two schools of singing March of the Volunteers too softly, and told teachers at another institution to help pupils develop the habit of singing the song with confidence.

Thank you for the gentle reminder, but perhaps Choi could set a good example and sing March of the Volunteers "with emotion" for us so that students know what standard the Education Bureau is expecting?

HK Sex Education is to Play Badminton

Education Bureau teaches kids not to have sex, play badminton

Teenagers are exploring sex, whether you like it or not, which is why sex education experts in the west suggest giving advice to them on how to protect themselves with birth control, and giving them resources so they are aware of sexually transmitted diseases.

A recent CBC Radio Vancouver call-in show had a sex educator on explaining it was important for parents to accept that their children were learning about sex through their friends or online and to be open to fielding questions from them or keeping communication channels open in case they get into trouble.

However, the Hong Kong government seems to be taking the denialist view, telling students not to engage in premarital sex, and curb their sexual desires by playing badminton.

Choi says sex ed teaches kids to "love themselves"

You read it right -- play badminton if you're feeling... cocky.

Online people had a field day or should we say court day with this, commenting that "playing badminton" should be the euphemism for having sex.

Despite outrage from critics and sex educators that this strategy for taming sexual desires was "out of touch" and "unrealistic", Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin dismiss these claims and insisted it was a valid way to "protect the juniors."

In a television interview, Choi said the purpose of sex education was to teach children to "love themselves, respect others and be responsible for themselves."

"Our approach is not conservative -- we wish to protect the young people and equip them with the right values to face adulthood and the complexity of society... and it's illegal to have sex with an underaged person," she added.

Indeed -- sex with a girl under the age of 16 can result in a penalty of five years in prison, and if the girl is under 13, the maximum sentence is life behind bars.

Lee supports Education Bureau sex ed advice

But the reality is, teens are having sex!

Meanwhile Lee weighed in, saying: "Although people could have very different opinions on value education, the government plays a leading role in determining the kind of society it aims to build through education.

"The education we provide should align with our visions, bringing us towards the kind of society, living environment and societal culture that we aspire to build... this is a continuous and collective effort."

Is Lee speaking from experience? He married Janet Lam Lai-sim when he was 22 years old and she was, by some reports 17 or younger... 

Pageant Contestants Catch Covid

The pageant is postponed until contestants recover

Should we be surprised? The Miss Hong Kong Pageant was supposed to hold its semi-finals this coming Sunday, but has been postponed for now as five contestants have tested positive for Covid-19.

In addition hosts Eric Tsang Chi-wai and Fanny Ip Hoi-yan have tested positive too.

Tsang tested positive for Covid

This is the first time the annual event has been impacted by the virus. The previous two years TVB managed to hold the event with social-distancing restrictions.

It is unclear when the semi-finals will be held, though all contestants will be taking PCR tests, while rehearsals and promotional activities will be stopped for now.

On Monday Hong Kong recorded 8,488 new cases, of which 236 were imported.

Meanwhile with school starting soon, students and teachers are advised to start doing rapid antigen tests two days before the first day of school. They should also get their third jab. 

Kindergarten operators are lobbying the education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin to not suspend face-to-face classes after she said the government might suspend whole-day classes if the number of cases surpasses 10,000.

Kindergartens hope to stay open this year

"These two to three years in the pandemic have been uncertain. Last year, classes kept pausing and resuming, our staff has already prepared for such changes... but the best is that classes are not affected," said Rosa Chow Wai-chun, president of the Early Childhood Educators Association.

Currently kindergartens can only hold half-day classes in person, though some operators arrange for half day classes and then the other half is "daycare".

It's tough to be a student during the pandemic. In-class learning is the best way to ensure students don't fall behind and develop the social skills they need to navigate the community they live in.

Meanwhile beauty pageants can wait. Hardly essential viewing...

Education Chief Promotes More Putonghua Learning

Students need to learn more Mandarin for better opportunities

The Hong Kong Education Bureau claims news reports saying the city was considering switching the medium of instruction for Chinese lessons in Mandarin rather than Cantonese are "inaccurate".

However when Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin was interviewed by state-run Global Times, she said that "if conditions are met, schools can use Putonghua to teach the Chinese language subject." 

Choi says Putonghua should be used in schools

In the interview published on Monday, Choi said the young generation in Hong Kong would "suffer losses" in terms of opportunities arising from China's rapid development if they could not speak Mandarin.

Therefore, she said, schools must teach subjects in Mandarin rather than Cantonese. 

But the Education Bureau claimed some media outlets misinterpreted Choi's remarks as meaning Mandarin would be the teaching language of choice for all schools and would be comprehensively implemented.

Instead the bureau clarified that such policies would depend on the school's situation, "including the level of readiness among teachers, the Mandarin capability of students, the language environment on campus, the curriculum, and support available for learning and teaching."

The bureau also said that "teaching Chinese in Putonghua" has always been a long-term target in the Chinese language curriculum since 2002, and this policy has not changed.

However, if Choi is giving this big hint that students should further brush up on their Mandarin in order to compete with peers on the mainland, she should be appealing to the parents, as they are the ones who would prefer their children have good English skills to keep their employment options open.

Students are already learning Mandarin

Also, is Choi also suggesting that the level of Mandarin in schools is bad? Then whose fault is that? Perhaps better teachers should be hired? Oh wait thousands of them have left Hong Kong?

There was also a time when suddenly teachers in Hong Kong had to teach subjects in Cantonese rather than English because the government seemed to think students did not have a good grasp of what was going on in the class. This was difficult for teachers to do, who had for years and decades taught the subject in English. 

And now the government wants teachers to teach in Mandarin instead of Cantonese...