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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Hon-chuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

As civic education and moral education have all along been overlooked in Hong Kong, the youth problem is becoming increasingly serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has considered including civic education in the core curricula of secondary and primary schools, so as to foster good virtues and positive values among students, thereby developing Hong Kong into a community that attaches equal importance to moral and intellectual development; if so, of the specific timetable for the implementation of such a plan; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

Government has all along been placing great importance on civic education for students. The Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools were issued in as early as 1985 to assist schools in developing school-based civic education curriculum. The Education Department (ED) has since regularly updated the guidelines in the light of Hong Kong's circumstances and developments.

The latest Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools issued in 1996 sets out the teaching objectives and curriculum framework for different levels of primary and secondary schools. It encourages schools to design school-based curriculum for civic education, having regard to their missions, resources available and students' needs. Schools may adopt one or more of the following implementation modes:

Permeation approach - Elements of civic education are permeated into the whole curriculum and are disseminated through different subjects in the formal curriculum and through extra-curricular activities.

Specific-subject approach - Civic education is taught as a specific subject. Learning would be more systematic and focused.

Integrated-subject approach - Integrated subjects, such as Life Education, Social Studies/Social Education, Civic/Moral Education, are designed with civic education forming one of the component modules.

Since the 1998/99 school year, the subject of Civic Education has been included as one of the electives in the subject group of Humanities which is within the common core curriculum at the junior secondary level (Secondary 1 -3). (Other electives in Humanities include Social Studies, Economic and Public Affairs, Geography, History, and Chinese History.) ED encourages schools to offer at least two subjects from this subject group. In addition, ED has also prepared the Syllabus for Civic Education for the junior secondary level. Separately, ED is conducting a holistic review of the school curriculum. One of the aims of the review is to find out better means to enhance civic education for primary and secondary school students. The review is expected to be completed in September 1999.

To assist schools to effectively implement civic education, ED provides resource support and other supporting services, including:

(1) Grant for Civic Education

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An annual grant of $500 per class is provided to all primary and secondary levels for the implementation of civic education.

(2) Teaching Resources

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Teaching kits and video tapes are produced and distributed free of charge to schools. School civic education bulletin and school civic education newsletter are issued regularly to disseminate information on the implementation of civic education in different schools. ED has also set up Civic Education Resource Centres with reference materials on civic education and related teaching resources for teachers.

(3) In-service Teacher Training

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ED organizes a number of seminars and workshops every year on the conceptual framework, curriculum contents, implementation and teaching strategies set out in the Guidelines on Civic Education in Schools. Moreover, starting from the 1997/98 school year, ED has been commissioning the Hong Kong Institute of Education to run in-service teacher training programmes on civic education for principals and teachers of primary and secondary schools. In the 1997/98 school year, a total of 24 courses for primary and secondary schools were arranged. In the 1998/99 school year, 32 courses were run.

End/Wednesday, June 30, 1999

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