******************************************
The Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, visited Wan Chai this afternoon (December 18), where he saw the learning environment of students in two local schools, in particular for children of different nationalities.
Mr Suen also familiarised himself with the harmonious blend of traditional and new developments in Wan Chai as he toured the Wan Chai Waterfront Promenade and the district's new eateries hub, the "Sanlitun".
Accompanied by the District Officer (Wan Chai), Mr William Yuen, Mr Suen first visited the Sir Ellis Kadoorie (Sookunpo) Primary School. He expressed his gratitude to the teaching staff for their efforts in providing diversified learning opportunities for and grooming students of different races and with various interests.
The Sir Ellis Kadoorie (Sookunpo) Primary School is a government school with more than 90% of its students being non-Chinese, mainly Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians and Nepalese. The school has been successful in achieving racial harmony and enhancing students' exposure and self-esteem by engaging them in various community and cultural activities.
Mr Suen was concerned about the campus life of the students, and took the opportunity to learn from them their interests and recent progress in their studies. He was particularly impressed by the students communicating with him in Cantonese.
While the school uses English as the medium of instruction for these non-Chinese speaking children, it has made a great effort to strengthen the Chinese Language curriculum. Through teaching some cultural subjects, like visual arts, and physical education in Chinese, and introducing Putonghua as an interest class for students, continuous improvement has been achieved in students' proficiency in Chinese. Mr Suen commended teachers for their untiring efforts in promoting Chinese to the non-Chinese students. He also encouraged the students to keep up their good work.
Mr Suen then visited the CCC Kung Lee College, a senior secondary school under the Direct Subsidy School Scheme which offers, apart from ordinary subjects leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, a diversified curriculum such as hospitality and tourism, catering, and design.
The college is also the first of its kind to have been validated by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications to operate post-secondary programmes. Its Diploma in Business and Information Technology and Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management have been recognised to have achieved level three under the Qualifications Framework, laying a solid foundation for students to pursue further studies and careers.
During his stay in the college, Mr Suen toured various teaching facilities, including the Experiment Restaurant and Hotel Room, and chatted with students and teachers about learning and teaching in school.
"Our students are all unique, with different aptitudes, interests and ambitions. By providing them with appropriate opportunities and support, they can all achieve on their own merits. What I have seen in our students today is that with the concerted effort of our education counterparts, they can develop their potential to the fullest," Mr Suen said when he concluded his visits to the schools.
Mr Suen then turned to the next stop of his visit - the Wan Chai Waterfront Promenade. Extending along the coastline next to Hung Hing Road, the promenade offers more than a hectare of waterfront for the public. Mr Suen chatted with people there and was glad to learn that the lawn, timber boardwalk and paved area of the promenade had now become a leisure walk and rendezvous for local residents, visitors and their pets.
Before ending his visit, Mr Suen toured the "Sanlitun", which is well-known for the diversity of its restaurants in North Wan Chai. He met with local community representatives at a tea reception and exchanged with them views on recent Government and education issues.
Ends/Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:41
NNNN