SED to attend International Summit on Teaching Profession 2014 in New Zealand
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     The Secretary for Education (SED), Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, will today (March 26) lead a delegation from Hong Kong to attend the International Summit on the Teaching Profession 2014 in Wellington, New Zealand.

     Jointly organised by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Education International, the event will bring together education ministers and members of the teaching profession from the top-performing countries/regions in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012, including Hong Kong, for a dialogue on building and supporting teaching excellence.

     In addition to Mr Ng, other participating officials will include education ministers from around the world including Singapore, Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and others.

     With "Excellence, Equity and Inclusiveness - High quality teaching for all" as its theme this year, the Summit aims to look into the best practices worldwide for strengthening the teaching profession and raising student achievement.

     According to the results of PISA 2012, Hong Kong students performed in the top three in the world for reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. It was also found that Hong Kong students' socio-economic status seemed to have less effect on their performance, with students from various socio-economic backgrounds performing equally well.

     During his stay in Wellington, Mr Ng will meet and exchange views on a variety of issues with a number of key education officials in New Zealand, including the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, the Minister for Education, and the Secretary for Education.

     Other members of the delegation include the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Professor Stephen Cheung; the Principal of CCC Kwei Wah Shan College, Dr Anne Chan; and the Political Assistant to the SED, Mr Jeff Sze. The delegation will return to Hong Kong this Sunday.

     During Mr Ng's absence, the Under Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, will be the Acting SED.

Ends/Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:30

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