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The Secretary for Education (SED), Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, will speak at the Education World Forum (EWF) in London, the United Kingdom (UK) today (January 21, London time) on the latest developments and priorities of Hong Kong in education, including the new education and youth initiatives announced in the 2014 Policy Address.
Arriving in London yesterday, Mr Ng attended the formal opening and keynote debates of the EWF together with over 90 ministerial officers from around the world. The EWF is an annual summit inviting education ministers and their delegations to participate.
Mr Ng also attended a round-table meeting with education ministers from various countries including Australia, Pakistan, Brunei and Laos to exchange views on education policy, especially on student mobility and the development of higher education.
He told the ministers that Hong Kong has strived to be a regional education hub through internationalisation and diversification of its higher education sector.
A series of measures implemented since 2008 have begun to bear fruit. For example, the number of local degree-awarding institutions has increased from 12 in 2007 to 17 in 2013. In the 2012/13 academic year, about 26 600 non-local students from over 70 countries or regions were pursuing post-secondary studies in Hong Kong.
As regards the eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions, the number of students coming from Australia, Pakistan, Brunei and Laos for further studies and exchanges has risen to more than 270. There is certainly room for further development, he added.
Saying that the internationalisation of the higher education sector of Hong Kong has been making good progress, Mr Ng invited the education ministers to enhance education collaboration with Hong Kong, especially in the areas of student exchange and research projects.
"Young people should be provided with diversified opportunities for development. In addition to the traditional curriculum, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is making every effort to promote vocational education and has set up the Qualification Framework as a comprehensive network of learning pathways.
"To help students realise their own aspirations as early as possible, the newly announced Policy Address also suggests that all public-sector secondary schools be provided with additional resources to enhance life planning and career guidance services for their students," he added.
In addition to participating in the ministerial forum, Mr Ng also met with some Chinese community leaders and students from Hong Kong to learn about their daily life in the UK and keep them posted on the new initiatives in the 2014 Policy Address.
Officials accompanying Mr Ng in London include the Deputy Secretary for Education, Dr Catherine K K Chan, and the Administrative Assistant to the SED, Mr Kenneth Cheng.
Ends/Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:38
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