The Education Bureau (EDB) today (July 8) held a sharing session at Pui Kiu Middle School on the first anniversary of President Xi Jinping's reply letter of encouragement to students of Pui Kiu Middle School to review how the EDB and the education sector have realised the spirit laid down in President Xi's reply letter and to plan the way forward.
Speaking at the event, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said that President Xi's reply letter on July 24 last year conveyed his earnest expectations for the young generation of Hong Kong. Over the year, the EDB has been striving to live up to the spirit of President Xi's reply letter and nurture young people's affection for and sense of belonging to the country, driven by the mission to cultivate values and nurture talent. Apart from continuous enhancement of the curriculum, development of learning and teaching resources and the provision of professional development for teachers, the EDB has been supporting schools in organising diversified life-wide learning activities, including Mainland exchange programmes (MEPs) and study tours, with a view to broadening students' horizons.
Dr Choi expressed her gratitude for the staunch support from the education sector and the enthusiastic participation of students in a wide variety of MEPs and study tours. She said that upon the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland early last year, the EDB had promptly launched Mainland study tours on the senior secondary subject of Citizenship and Social Development, attracting participation from nearly 95 000 students so far. Furthermore, MEPs for students provide over 100 000 exchange places every year, which are sufficient for every student to join an MEP at least once in the primary and secondary stages. Under the Sister School Scheme, more than 930 publicly funded schools have established more than 2 800 sister school pairs with their Mainland counterparts. For the five-year Greater Bay Area Career Exploration Tours Programme launched this school year, there have been over 100 participating secondary schools.
Dr Choi said that the EDB will continue to optimise various MEPs and study tours, providing more opportunities for students to understand the country's latest developments and achievements from multiple perspectives, and assisting them to combine reading and travelling.
The sharing session was attended by over 400 participants, including the Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Dr Wang Weiming; the supervisor of Pui Kiu Middle School, Mr Jasper Tsang; Constitution and Basic Law Student Ambassadors, and teachers and students from over 10 secondary schools.
At the sharing session, teacher and student representatives of Pui Kiu Middle School shared their inspirations gained from President Xi's reply letter. The student representatives talked about how Mainland visit activities enabled them to delve into the history and culture of the country. The teacher representative outlined how the school's work aligned with curriculum development in promoting patriotic education inside and outside the classroom. Students from Pui Kiu Middle School and other schools then engaged in group sharing sessions on their learning experiences related to aerospace development, exchange activities on the Mainland and in the Belt and Road regions, and physical and aesthetic development.
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