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Following is the speech by the Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mrs Fanny Law, at the Early Childhood Education International Symposium of the Yew Chung Education Foundation today (November 1):

Dr Chan, distinguished speakers, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen,

The Secretary for Education and Manpower, Professor Arthur Li, has asked me to send his apology for not being able to join you on this happy occasion due to unforeseen circumstances. He wishes you a fruitful symposium and, to the distinguished speakers from overseas, a wonderful time in Hong Kong.

This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Yew Chung Education Foundation, and I applaud the Foundation for celebrating its anniversary with this international symposium to share with the community its professional experience in early childhood education. Backed by 70 years of sterling service, Yew Chung has clearly established itself as the leader in the field.

Over the past 70 years, there has been a dramatic growth in our knowledge about human development and better understanding of old truths. Today, there is clear scientific evidence to support the old Chinese saying that "a person's fate at 80 is determined at the age of three". I presume few in this room would disagree that what happens in the first few years of a child's life has major and long-lasting impact on a child's development of emotions, behaviour and the capacity to learn. Good early childhood education is crucial in reinforcing the early years' experience, or compensating for any shortfall, and will affect significantly the pathways of child development.

Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean poet, has said, "Many things we need can wait, the child cannot....To him we cannot say tomorrow, his name is today."

We share this sense of urgency. To prepare our next generation for the 21st century, which is marked by change and uncertainty, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has embarked on a wide-ranging programme of education reforms since October 2000, which straddles early childhood to higher education. The overall objective is to nurture our young people to become global citizens who enjoy learning, can communicate effectively, can think critically and creatively, and are committed to one's family and nation.

At the early childhood level, our aim is to provide a pleasurable and rich learning environment that can inspire the curiosity and quest of knowledge in young minds, and to lay the foundation for lifelong learning. The theme of this symposium 'Liberate the Joy of Learning - Educating the Global Child' nicely embraces the aim of the reform.

The French philosopher Montaigne observed back in the 16th century that "children at play are not playing about; their games should be seen as the most serious-minded activity." Purposeful and carefully designed play promotes initiative, independence, entertainment and creativity. Learning through play promotes joyful learning, stimulates creativity and imagination, and strengthens the motivation to learn.

Supporters of the "no pain, no gain" dictum, however, regards play as a luxury. Parents, who are too eager to see their children make a headstart in reading and writing, often take pride in their children's ability to spell "umbrella" and write the Chinese character of "tortoise" made up of 17 strokes. What they may have overlooked is that such unpleasant learning experiences may distort young children's concept of learning and frustrate their motivation to learn.

Early childhood education in Hong Kong operates in a private market. The advantages are flexibility, diversity and responsiveness to market forces, which we cherish as the driving force for performance and cost-effectiveness. The downside is that, in the struggle for survival, against the backdrop of a declining birth rate, the temptation is to pamper to parental demands, which may not be educationally sound. The remedy lies in nurturing early childhood educators who are strong enough to stand up for their professional conviction, and in educating parents on the learning psychology and cognitive development of young children.

For historical reasons, kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong were not required to be professionally trained prior to 1984. By 1992, each kindergarten was required to employ at least 40% trained teachers. Today, 71% of kindergarten teachers have completed a one-year qualified kindergarten teacher (QKT) training programme. Our aim is to achieve 100% QKT by 2004-05. This is only the beginning. We shall progressively upgrade the entry qualification of kindergarten teachers to the sub-degree level, or even degree in due course.

Preparing children to learn to read is the top priority of early childhood education. The pre-primary language curriculum should provide an enriched language-learning environment, in which children can develop their language awareness through interpersonal interaction and active participation in language activities. We are stepping up in-service training on early reading instruction to provide kindergarten teachers with a clear understanding of the course of literacy development and the role of instruction in optimising literacy development. We also encourage professional sharing of good practices through the district teacher network and resource schools.

Kindergarten heads and teachers are encouraged to innovate their teaching strategies and curriculum planning through observations of children working in the classrooms. Good examples can be quoted from the Hong Kong Pre-primary English Language project piloted by the Hong Kong Council of children Education and Services. Likewise, the Yew Chung Education Foundation has also pioneered good work on the enhancement of home-school cooperation and child-center curriculum, which have real impact in the development of literacy of our children.

Apart from the teacher, there is increasing evidence that parental beliefs have a major influence on children's literacy development. The quality of adult-child discourse and the enjoyment of reading in the family directly affect children's motivation to learn to read later on. Parent education therefore ranks high in the overall strategy to promote reading beginning in the early years. With the cooperation and contribution of parents, the learning experience acquired by our children in the kindergarten can be extended, consolidated and further developed at home.

Investing in children is vital to the social and economic well-being of Hong Kong. The new economy places a high premium on knowledge, which depends on a society's human resources. We may not be able to affect the powerful forces of nature; but we can influence a child's development through nurture; and we know we have to start early. We have to match our knowledge of what is possible with a will to make it a reality. The Hong Kong SAR Government has this will and I look to Yew Chung Foundation, and other leaders in the field, for support and advice in speeding up the process of upgrading the early childhood education in Hong Kong.

This symposium is a most welcomed initiative and valuable opportunity for professional development and experience sharing. I thank Dr Chan and the Yew Chung Foundation for bringing in experts from different parts of the world. I wish you all a stimulating and joyful forum, and the Yew Chung Foundation continued success for many years to come.

End/Friday, November 1, 2002

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