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International congress a two-way exchange
Hong Kong's respect for education and the Government's investment in the development of the full potential of young people in the territory are the messages delivered in the United States this week by the Director of Education, Mrs Helen C P Lai Yu.
"Parents value education as the key to their children's success and to social mobility. Government views our young as Hong Kong's most important resource. Public spending on education is our largest item of recurrent expenditure and is our major contribution to social and economic stability," she said.
Mrs Yu chaired the Hong Kong Symposium as part of the 10th International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI).
More than 600 education experts from at least 25 territories were at the international meeting this week in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
"In Hong Kong, our mission in education is to develop the full potential of our young to guide them to be independent and responsible citizens. Our aim is to help them learn, to live fully as individuals and to fulfil their responsibilities to their families and the community," Mrs Yu told her audience at the Hong Kong Symposium entitled "The latest Initiatives for School Effectiveness and Education Quality in Hong Kong" during the congress.
Speakers at the symposium included the Chairman of the Education Commission, Professor Rosie Young; Chairman of the Board of Education, Mr Moses Cheng; Chairman of the Towards a Better School Movement, Mr Issac Tse; and Director of the Research Centre of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Professor Cheng Yin-cheong.
The common theme developed by all of the speakers was the need for quality school education. The audience of the symposium was impressed by the concerted commitment demonstrated by education advisors, government officials, school practitioners and researchers towards school effectiveness and education quality in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's participation in the 10th ICSEI has generated considerable interest in the territory's education development and its strategy for reform.