Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the opening ceremony of the Sports and Arts Building at W F Joseph Lee Primary School today (November 22):
Dr Joseph Lee (Supervisor of W F Joseph Lee Primary School), Mr Alan Chow (Principal of W F Joseph Lee Primary School), His Eminence Cardinal John Tong Hon (Bishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, principals, parents, students,
Good afternoon. I am delighted to join you all today at the opening ceremony of the Sports and Arts Building of W F Joseph Lee Primary School. First and foremost, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the school and to those who have contributed to the successful completion of this impressive facility.
The Sports and Arts Building marks a significant milestone in the continuous development of the school and the commitment of the WoFoo Foundation to quality education. Since its establishment in 2002, the W F Joseph Lee Primary School has been offering a diversified curriculum and joyful learning environment within and outside classrooms to students for whole-person development.
The current setting of the campus is already well equipped with a dance studio, a library, a STEM room, a computer room, a campus TV studio, music rooms for Chinese and Western musical instruments, an art room, a science room, a band room and a mini-tennis court. The opening of this new building will offer a diverse education experience to students to unleash their potential. These facilities include an art gallery, an all-weather swimming pool, a roof basketball court, and a multi-purpose room for indoor exhibitions, theme-based seminars, gymnastic training and cheerleading team training.
The vision of the school to develop students to their fullest potential and become responsible and respectable future members of society is consonant with the current-term Government's mission to nurture the future generations into quality citizens who are socially responsible and equipped with a sense of our national identity, a love for Hong Kong and an international perspective.
Government expenditure on education is therefore the most meaningful investment for our future. It has always been the lion's share of recurrent spending of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. In the current financial year, our expenditure on education amounts to approximately HK$113.7 billion, an increase of 28.4 per cent from HK$88.5 billion in the previous financial year. This fully reflects the long-term commitment of the Government to education.
To better prepare our next generations for the challenges ahead, we have allocated considerable resources to promote the whole-person development of students. All along, the Education Bureau has been advocating the adoption of diversified learning inside and outside the classroom to boost students' interest in learning, and instil in them positive values and attitudes. To this end, the Policy Address this year announced the launch of a new recurrent Life-wide Learning Grant with an annual provision of $900 million. The Grant will support public sector schools and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme to take forward, on the present foundation, life-wide learning with enhanced efforts through organising more out-of-classroom experiential learning activities in various curriculum areas such as the humanities, STEM education, physical and aesthetic development and moral and civic education.
I share the excitement and exhilaration of the teachers and students of this school over the grand opening of the Sports and Arts Building today. I am confident that building on its strengths and foundation, the school would fully utilise the enhanced facilities and the increased resources from the Government to further promote the whole-person development of students. With the concerted efforts of all the stakeholders, I trust that the school will continue to fulfil its mission of developing students as confident, innovative and resourceful individuals with broad horizons and positive thinking.
Before I close, I would like to pay warm tribute to Joseph for his devotion to serving the community. On this note, I would like to congratulate WoFoo Foundation for another impressive community services project. I wish the school every success in the years ahead and all of you good health and happiness. Thank you.
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