LCQ12: Application of artificial intelligence in primary and secondary school teaching
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Question:
The Steering Committee for Teaching in Basic Education under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (MOE) has recently published the "Guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) general education in primary and secondary schools (2025)" and the "Guidelines for the use of generative AI in primary and secondary schools (2025)", with the aim of regulating and promoting AI education across all key stages. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will follow the practice of MOE in formulating guidelines for AI education and the use of generative AI in primary and secondary schools, so as to build a comprehensive AI general education system and set clear regulations for the use of generative AI in primary and secondary education for various learning stages;
(2) in order to prevent students from becoming over-reliant on generative AI to the detriment of their independent thinking skills, whether the authorities will draw up guidelines on the use of generative AI for different learning stages, so as to provide teachers and parents with reference material for supervising students and their children's use of generative AI;
(3) in order to effectively safeguard the privacy and data security of students, whether the authorities will require schools to adopt the Artificial Intelligence: Model Personal Data Protection Framework published by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, so as to provide primary and secondary school teachers and administrative staff with clear guidelines on the use of AI;
(4) in order to support teachers in providing teaching and learning support plans tailored to students of different levels and abilities, whether the authorities will produce a large language model for all primary and secondary schools across the territory that can be used for teaching and learning purposes, as well as developing vertical applications; and
(5) whether the authorities will draw up guidelines and provide technical support for primary and secondary schools to enhance their application of AI in school affairs, thereby encouraging the use of generative AI technologies to optimise school administration?
Reply:
President,
To align with the national strategy of building a leading country in education, keeping pace with global development trends, and nurturing talent for the advancement of innovation and technology (I&T) in Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (EDB) is stepping up its efforts to promote digital education, including the application and education of artificial intelligence (AI). The EDB established the Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education in early 2025, making reference to the latest developments on the Mainland and relevant policies and experiences from other places, to provide recommendations on the goals, strategies and future directions for the implementation of digital education in Hong Kong. The EDB will organise the first Digital Education Week in July combining the International Summit on the Use of AI in Learning and Teaching Languages and Other Subjects and the Hong Kong Education City's annual event Learning & Teaching Expo, to promote in-depth exploration and application of AI and frontier technology.
Our consolidated reply to the written question raised by Professor the Hon William Wong is as follows:
Through ongoing curriculum and guide renewal, enriching learning and teaching resources, strengthening teacher training, optimising education ancillary infrastructure and promoting cross-sector collaboration, the EDB assists schools in harnessing AI and other I&T to enhance the digital literacy and the competence of both teachers and students on AI. The EDB places emphasis on developing students' values, attitudes, knowledge and skills, enabling them to use digital technology (including generative AI) effectively and ethically.
Curriculum and guides
At present, almost all publicly-funded primary and secondary schools have implemented enriched coding education and AI education at the upper primary level and the junior secondary level respectively. The Module on AI for Junior Secondary Level covers topics such as AI basics, AI ethics, societal impact and future of work, which enables teachers and students to learn about the appropriate application scenarios of AI, as well as relevant security topics including personal data privacy and data security. The EDB launched the updated "Information Literacy for Hong Kong Students" Learning Framework in 2024, with a new literacy area "recognise the ethical issues arising from the application of emerging and advanced information technologies" which includes subjects relating to laws and regulations, academic integrity and excessive dependence arising from I&T such as AI technologies, with an aim to develop students to become ethical users of information technology (IT).
In addition, the EDB has, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force and the Journalism Education Foundation, launched the learning and teaching resources on Cyber Security and Technology Crime Information and Media and Information Literacy respectively, which include contents to strengthen the protection of personal privacy, enhance students' ability to discern the authenticity of information and promote the proper use of social media. These resources can guide students in the proper use of AI and nurture positive values and attitudes towards the application of innovative technologies.
We have always encouraged schools to make reference to good practices when applying IT and I&T (such as AI). The Artificial Intelligence: Model Personal Data Protection Framework issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (PCPD), provides useful references on safeguarding personal data privacy and cyber security issues.
The EDB will make reference to the latest developments and experiences from local, the country and other places, update and optimise the curriculum and guides, adhere to the use of AI for good, and while improving efficiency and effectiveness, maintain the security of AI and technology education, and guard against challenges and risks related to laws and regulations, ethics, authenticity of information, and privacy protection.
Training
The EDB has continuously enhanced teacher training, these include the provision of AI-related professional development programmes with contents covering topics like the development of AI, the planning of applying AI in teaching and learning, the application of AI tools in different subjects, the safeguarding of data security, as well as the prevention of students from become over-reliant on generative AI to the detriment of their independent thinking skills. The training programmes are conducted in both online and offline modes to benefit a greater number of teachers. In addition, the EDB has co-organised a number of teacher training programmes with the PCPD, enabling schools to understand how to address data security risks and handle data breaches, as well as enhancing school personnel's awareness of data security.
In addition, we have continued to launch relevant parent training to help parents cultivate children's good habit in using IT in their daily life, including the proper use of generative AI for learning.
Education ancillary infrastructure
To optimise education ancillary infrastructure, the Quality Education Fund (QEF) has allocated $500 million for the implementation of the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme to develop quality e-learning ancillary facilities that meet the local learning and teaching needs through co-operation among schools, tertiary institutions, education and professional bodies, and business sectors. A total of over 20 projects have been funded under the Programme and have commenced in the beginning of the 2023/24 school year. The learning platforms and resources developed under these projects deploy I&T such as big data and AI to enhance learning and teaching effectiveness in a wide array of subjects/areas. As at end-March 2025, around 400 schools participated in the collaborative development projects, involving around 31 000 students. It is expected that the deliverables of the projects will be successively released in mid-2025 and uploaded to the Hong Kong Education City for subscription by schools. The QEF will also sponsor publicly-funded schools to use the deliverables of the projects to facilitate the sustainable development of the projects.
The EDB will continue to optimise the platform of Hong Kong Education City, make reference and utilise existing high-quality learning and teaching platforms, large language models and programmes in local, the country or other places, encourage the sharing of high-quality resources across sectors and schools, and explore how to further support learning and teaching in Hong Kong in a cost-effective manner.
Looking forward, under the leadership of the Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education, the EDB will continue to review the implementation and development of related support strategies on improving students' digital literacy and skills, strengthening relevant professional training for teachers, enhancing collaboration with different stakeholders and continuously optimising digital education ancillary infrastructure, to meet the needs of school development and student learning in the era of AI.
Ends/Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Issued at HKT 14:16
Issued at HKT 14:16
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