US(Ed) visits Zhejiang and Shanghai (with photos)

     The Under Secretary for Education, Mr Sze Chun-fai, this afternoon (July 5) visited Shanghai Normal University to meet its leaders and attend the opening ceremony of the Mainland study tour for Hong Kong's newly joined teachers.
 
     About 130 newly joined teachers from secondary, primary and special schools participated in this study tour. Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Sze expressed his gratitude to 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 and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission for their guidance and co-ordination, which enabled the study tour to proceed smoothly. He also thanked Shanghai Normal University for organising the study tour and meticulously planning the course content. He said he believes that Hong Kong teachers would gain fruitful results from the training and enhance their professional capacity.
 
     Mr Sze pointed out that the study tour aimed to update teachers on the Mainland's latest developments in education, culture and technology and to deepen their national perspective, thereby enhancing their ability to develop students' national identity.
 
     This morning, Mr Sze visited the memorial of the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China and met representatives of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission to discuss co-operation between Hong Kong and Shanghai and to explore ways to further promote education exchanges between the two places. In the evening, he will visit the College of Dance of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Shanghai International Dance Center, where he will watch a dance performance with teachers participating in the study tour.
 
     Yesterday (July 4), Mr Sze toured the Oriental Land, an out-of-school camp for young people in Shanghai, to understand its experiential activities and training programmes on national defence education and labour creation for young students. He also visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center to learn about how Shanghai promotes patriotic education, science education and environmental education through the Center. Afterwards, he met Hong Kong youths studying or working in Shanghai to understand their learning and daily lives there. He also encouraged them to grasp the development opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
 
     On July 3, Mr Sze visited the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province and Zhejiang University to explore with the leaders ways to strengthen education exchanges and collaboration. He later met Hong Kong youths studying or working in Hangzhou and encouraged them to seize the opportunity to contribute to the high-quality development of the country.
 
     Mr Sze will conclude his three-day visit today and return to Hong Kong tomorrow morning (July 6).