Hong Kong yesterday unveiled a proposal that would give schools the option of switching back to teaching in English, 11 years after a “mother-tongue” policy ordered them to teach in Chinese.
The plan, unveiled by Hong Kong Education Secretary Michael Suen (孫明揚) yesterday, is aimed at improving English-language standards that have fallen since Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony in 1997.
If approved, it would give schools the option as of September next year to teach in English in classes where more than 85 percent of pupils rank as high-achievers.
Other secondary schools who do not meet the requirement would have the option of using English for one quarter of lessons.
Suen told lawmakers on an education panel that the move was aimed at improving the English proficiency of students and to overcome the perception among parents that English-medium schools were better than their Chinese-language equivalents.
The move has been welcomed by teaching and schools associations who see it as a way of improving English standards in the city of 7 million.
However, some legislators expressed concern that it would have an adverse effect on the standard of other subjects for students with poor English.
The mother-tongue policy, introduced shortly after the handover when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule, has been blamed for falling language standards.
It has resulted in fierce competition for places in the remaining English-medium schools and a sharp rise in the number of local children applying to fee-paying international schools.
Studies have claimed English language standards have fallen and a survey of 2,000 Chinese professionals by the Polytechnic University last November found English was still rated to be the most important business language.
BLOODSHED: North Koreans take extreme measures to avoid being taken prisoner and sometimes execute their own forces, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said that Russian and North Korean forces sustained heavy losses in fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region. Ukrainian and Western assessments say that about 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy swathes of territory after staging a mass cross-border incursion in August last year. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy quoted a report from Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi as saying that the battles had taken place near the village of Makhnovka, not far from the Ukrainian border. “In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka,
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Tuesday expressed concern about “the political crisis” in Georgia, two days after Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of the South Caucasus nation, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. “We strongly condemn last week’s violence against peaceful protesters, media and opposition leaders, and recall Georgian authorities’ responsibility to respect human rights and protect fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to assembly and media freedom,” the three ministers wrote in a joint statement. In reaction
BARRIER BLAME: An aviation expert questioned the location of a solid wall past the end of the runway, saying that it was ‘very bad luck for this particular airplane’ A team of US investigators, including representatives from Boeing, on Tuesday examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea, while authorities were conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. Video showed the aircraft, without its landing gear deployed, crash-landed on its belly and overshoot a runaway at Muan International Airport before it slammed into a barrier and burst into flames. The plane was seen having engine trouble.
REVELRY ON HOLD: Students marched in Belgrade amid New Year’s events, saying that ‘there is nothing to celebrate’ after the train station tragedy killed 15 Thousands of students marched in Belgrade and two other Serbian cities during a New Year’s Eve protest that went into yesterday, demanding accountability over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November. The incident in the city of Novi Sad occurred on Nov. 1 at a newly renovated train facility, killing 14 people — aged six to 74 — at the scene, while a 15th person died in hospital weeks later. Public outrage over the tragedy has sparked nationwide protests, with many blaming the deaths on corruption and inadequate oversight of construction projects. In Belgrade, university students marched through the capital
RSS