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The Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, today (August 2) concluded his official visit to Melbourne, which followed his official visit to Singapore.
"Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia have some common goals in the area of education. We are all committed to providing not only quality education for local residents but also opportunities for those pursuing exchanges and studies from around the world," Mr Ng said.
"There are a lot of good practices that we could share and learn from one another to improve our education services and facilities for the betterment of our students, our community and our future.
"Following the official visit, we will continue to exchange views and information on education, especially in the areas of kindergarten education, teacher training and development as a regional education hub," he said.
A member of the delegation, the Chairman of the Committee on Free Kindergarten Education, Dr Moses Cheng, added, "The study tour has enabled committee representatives to have face-to-face and in-depth exchanges with overseas early childhood education experts and government officials. This is essential if we really take mapping out the way forward for free kindergarten education as an important issue.
"We have made a lot of enquiries on various aspects about the ways of implementing practicable free education and learnt from different organisations and experts some good advice and reminders. The Committee and its Sub-committees will later meet for more thorough and focused deliberations."
Leading a Hong Kong delegation, Mr Ng today first visited the Early Learning Centre, which is the University of Melbourne's research and demonstration kindergarten, to get a better understanding of quality practices in early childhood education.
The delegates also visited the Diamond Valley Special Development School to look into its early intervention practices, family-centred model and specially designed learning activities for students with intellectual disabilities.
Then they moved on to Deakin University to learn about its teacher training programmes, particularly in early childhood education, and conducted class observation.
Other members of the delegation include sub-committee conveners of the Committee on Free Kindergarten Education; the Deputy Secretary for Education, Mrs Betty Ip; and the Administrative Assistant to the SED, Mr Kenneth Cheng. They will leave Melbourne tonight and arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow.
Ends/Friday, August 2, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:16
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