TNAG-1734-FCO40-2447-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 335

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11 May 1988

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the face of economic change, the role of education which serves as an important part in youth policies formulation should be in line with social development. It should provide manpower for the society and to enable an educated public to adapt to life in the community and prepare them for employment.

Education in Hong Kong now obviously falls short of that objective. Secondary education is mainly focused on training students through grammar schools for the tertiary sector and later for professions or managerial posts. The adverse consequences of such undiversified secondary education to train students for post-secondary level are obvious.

Nine years of free education and more senior secondary places have meant that more youths are receiving tertiary-oriented secondary education. Young people are full of hope especially in the secondary education phase. However, the reality is that only a very small minority of them can enter tertiary institutes and those who fail are branded with the mark of failure. Failure of the examination institutionises and rationalises their inferior status. Apart from the failure to enter tertiary institutes, what many saddens them most is that young people find that they are ill-equipped for their employment. They find that their secondary education has not fully prepared them for anything other than tertiary education and that there is little practical value apart from grammar education. The frustration of failure plus the anxieties about the future pro- spects come as a double blow.

The first Report of the Education Commission suggests that by 1991, 95 per cent of those at the age of 15 should be provided with school places. If the suggestion was materialised, this would mean that more youngsters will not be able to have tertiary places.

The Government in fact has not ignored the situation and has provided a way out by investing heavily in vocational training. However, the pace is far too slow, and compared with the resources put on secondary schools, the resources for the former are negligible.

Apart from education, another issue worth noting is the issue of increasing young peoples' political and social awareness and helping them to develop critical and independent thinking. As 1997 approaches and as Hong Kong turns from its closed political structure to more open representative government, young people have more and more opportunities of making decisions on important issues. Such changes in the system affect young people the most, for young people of today are the main-stay of our society in the future.

We cannot develop critical thinking and judgement overnight. Adequate information and flexible application of principle are necessary.

The first step to help young people develop their analytical powers and judgement is to encourage them to get a better understanding of different political thoughts and political systems and overcome long held political taboo. Civic education as being taught now in Hong Kong seems to fall short of both objectives.