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The Permanent Secretary for Education, Mr Raymond Wong, will be visiting New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco in the United States tomorrow (April 28) to strengthen ties with secondary and tertiary educational institutions there.
He will lead a delegation comprising the Chairman of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim; the Deputy Secretary for Education, Dr Catherine KK Chan, and Education Bureau and HKEAA officers. The visit aims to promote the New Academic Structure (NAS), which facilitates smoother articulation with overseas education systems including the US system, to secure wider international recognition of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, and to showcase Hong Kong as the regional education hub with stepped-up efforts to further internationalise and diversify the higher education sector.
During his visit to the United States, Mr Wong will meet senior government officials, key personnel of several renowned universities, leaders of educational institutions and senior management personnel of admissions offices to brief them on the latest initiatives of the Hong Kong SAR Government in enhancing education services and to promote Hong Kong as a regional hub for quality education. Mr Wong will also meet community leaders and students from Hong Kong.
On the first leg of the visit in New York, Mr Wong and delegates will visit the Bronx High School of Science. They will also have meetings with senior management of the City University of New York, the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, New York University, the Institute of International Education, the College Entrance Examination Board, World Education Services and the Lingnan Foundation.
Mr Wong will also meet students from Hong Kong to learn about their experiences and the challenges of academic exchanges at a reception hosted by the Economic and Trade Office in New York. The United States is one of the popular destinations for Hong Kong students to pursue studies. Currently, there are more than 8,000 undergraduate and post-graduate Hong Kong students studying in universities and colleges on the east and west coasts.
The delegation will then proceed to Washington D.C. on May 2. Mr Wong will attend a roundtable discussion at the Institute of International Education. He will make a presentation entitled "The New Academic Structure in Hong Kong - A Learning Journey for All Students to Succeed in the Globalised World". The delegation will also exchange views on education issues with academics and local personnel in the education field.
Before leaving for San Francisco, Mr Wong will visit George Washington University and meet representatives of the American Council on Education, the US Department of Education and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Office.
In San Francisco, Mr Wong will have a meeting at California's Department of Education before calling on the Chancellor of the Community College System of California on May 5. The delegation will then visit the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University and Foothill College, to be followed by a reception hosted by the Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco with support from the HK Association of northern California.
The delegation will return to Hong Kong on May 8.
Ends/Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:05
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