International education set to expand in Hong Kong

The government is firmly committed to supporting international education in Hong Kong, which is set to expand in the next few years.

The Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mrs Fanny Law, said today (November 14) that since 1999, the government had allocated land for 10 private independent schools, which would come on stream in stages between 2004 and 2006.

"In recent years, we have expanded the provision and choice of international education with the development of private independent schools, in addition to the traditional international schools that adopt a national curriculum," Mrs Law said at the opening ceremony of Phase II of the Canadian International School.

"We now have 50 international schools in Hong Kong providing education for 27,000 students of 25 nationalities. In addition, there are some very reputable English medium schools in Hong Kong with a long history and are highly sought after by local parents."

Mrs Law said that as the government liberalised the curriculum in the mainstream schools, through the on-going curriculum reform, it was possible that some of them might also admit expatriate children in future as the schools had the potential to be an additional choice for expatriate students.

She said that as an international city, Hong Kong had to develop a workforce with global perspectives and cross-cultural social skills.

"At the same time, to maintain Hong Kong's cosmopolitan character, and to attract overseas talents and investment to Hong Kong, our education system must adequately cater for the needs of expatriate children who have moved to Hong Kong with their parents," Mrs Law said.

"We not only have to make them feel welcomed; we must also help them to bridge any cultural gaps that may come with the uprooting."

The Canadian International School opened as a small primary school with 80 students in 1991. Today, it is a state-of-the-art facility with 1,600 places from Reception to Year 12. It is the only international school in Hong Kong that has as its patron the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang.

End/ Thursday, November 14, 2002