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The following is the full text of the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at the Forum on "Education Blueprint for the 21st Century - Review of Academic System: Aims of Education" organised by the Education Commission today (Monday):

Chairman, members of the Education Commission, ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to attend this open forum organised by the Education Commission today.

The theme of today's forum -- "Education Blueprint for the 21st Century" -- focuses on reviewing our academic system and aims of education which mean the utmost to all of us. The territory-wide consultation about to be staged by the Education Commission has my full support. In fact, I have great expectation of this review. After we have a thorough discussion on all the major links of education, I hope an outline of the blueprint for the 21st century will emerge.

To educate our people for building a better Hong Kong is a primary task of the Government of the Special Administrative Region. I am fully aware that members of the public are as concerned as I am on this subject. Thus, in my Policy Address of October last year, I stated that we need good education to enhance our competitiveness and develop an enlightened, knowledge-based society.

We will soon enter the new millennium. In an age of advanced information technology, competitions are growing keener as a result of global economic integration. In this new round of economic competitions, the one with ample knowledge will surely be the winner. At present, we in Hong Kong are faced with unprecedented challenges and ordeals. Out of our painful experience and the the sense of threat, we find it more pressing to reflect on how we should cope with future challenges. To help Hong Kong to move forward and to enhance our competitiveness, we must place education on the top of our agenda. Despite the current economic downturn, education remains the single biggest item of recurrent expenditure of the Government of the Special Administrative Region. In 1999-2000, total recurrent expenditure on education will amount to HK$44 billion.

That represents our investment in our future. We expect our investment to yield handsome returns. We expect our educational systems and policies to bring up creative and adaptive young people who are ready to take up their responsibilities towards our society and our country. We also expect to train up talents with an international outlook as well as a wide scope of knowledge and skills. They must take pride in their lifelong zeal for learning, seek pleasure in enriching themselves and share the virtues of human beings. For this reason, I have asked the Education Commission to conduct a thorough review of our academic system at all levels, from pre-primary to tertiary, so as to upgrade the overall quality of education and ensure that our system will produce the right talents for the future development of Hong Kong.

The primary task of the Education Commission is to work with members of the public in identifying our overall educational aims, and study ways to ensure that the curricula, assessment methods and duration of each stage of education are in line with these aims such that our ultimate goal of fostering quality education will be fulfilled. I am pleased to know that the Education Commission is launching a territory-wide consultation exercise on educational aims and is prepared to mobilise the community to establish a consensual orientation for educational development.

In view of the scope and complexity of the review, we need the fervent support and active participation of the whole community. Indeed, education is a matter for all members of the community. The channel of consultation adopted by the Education Commission this time is different from what we had in the past. I know that Mr Leung compares it to "starting a fire", which means you may take the opportunity to tell us freely and candidly your hopes or even dreams. Good education is indeed a dream shared by the whole society, by all the people of the Special Administrative Region. We have here with us today front-line educators, friends from the business sector, community representatives as well as parents, teachers and students. Please do not hesitate to put forward your views on this important issue. Let us put our heads together to draw up a blueprint for education for the 21st Century. The Education Commission will formulate specific proposals in light of the consultation results and I earnestly look forward to its submission.

Thank you.

End/Monday, January 25, 1999

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