Hilary Wong
Monday, October 27, 2014
A row is brewing over a proposed revision of the liberal studies course in secondary schools.
According to one report, pro- establishment lawmakers met with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on October 10 during which they suggested the month- long Occupy Central movement, which is largely led by students, was triggered by the subject.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's Tam Yiu-chung said he did not remember the details but "some people did mention this issue."
However, Tam said it is his belief that using liberal studies to replace Chinese history is not enough, "since we need to have more understanding of the past."
He said the DAB has also suggested that Chinese history be reintroduced as a compulsory subject.
Education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said if the report is correct, it would mean that politics was interfering with education and may force more people on to the street.
Ip said the liberal studies curriculum was released after a long deliberation. If it is to be reviewed, it should be carried out by the education sector and not on the order of senior officials in the government.
According to the report, during the meeting with Leung, some senior government officials wanted liberal studies to include the Basic Law and the concept of "one country."
The Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union released a statement yesterday strongly opposing political intervention in liberal studies or other subjects.
It described the government's silence on the meeting as an attempt to keep knowledge from the people. It said the government had already tried to link the present unrest to liberal studies and planned to use this as an excuse to review the subject.
The union suspects that the government initiated the change during this politically sensitive period so as to make politics override the professional review of new curriculum.
The Education Bureau said last night that the review has nothing to do with the Occupy movement and there have not been orders from senior officials.
It added that the review was done by the bureau and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority "according to needs and schedule."
A bureau spokesman said he hopes different sectors in society do not mix political issues into curriculum development, and also to respect the teaching profession and mechanism of curriculum development and assessment.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=150775&sid=43237226&con_type=1&d_str=20141027&fc=1
