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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, at a media session after visiting TWGHs Yiu Dak Chi Memorial Primary School in Tin Shui Wai today (September 1):
Reporter: Secondary school students and university students are planning to boycott classes. What is your take on that?
Secretary for Education: There has been a lot of media reporting on the subject, I have (not) yet seen anything specific in the first place. However, if you look at it from the different responses, as far as the universities and higher education sector are concerned, my understanding is that classes will still continue as scheduled because there are a lot of students who would like to come for the classes. So there should not be any interruption as far as the lecturers and professors are committed to scheduled classes, to that extent. As far as the secondary schools are concerned, the school sector has a lot of concerns about teachers' loadings - you could imagine if there are any particular teachers absent from class, you could imagine the loading adding on. Also there is a major interruption in terms of the learning and teaching spirit and climate in the class. So we definitely will not support, we definitely will object to, this potential idea of boycotting the classes.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, September 1, 2014
Issued at HKT 12:55
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