Do You Know Anything About Hong Kong’s Education System?

Carmen Sze To

“We just learnt Chinese in the past, unlike you and your mother, learning different subjects in a comfortably environment,” Mrs. Leung Chow Kit Ling said.

The difference of compulsory academic subjects

Through the ages, education is a very important process aims to impart and acquire knowledge from different aspects which can enrich our lives and help us to live a better life. The education means of the past and now are being changed according to the development and improvement of this globe. However, academic subjects keep changing in different decades.

According to my grandmother, Mrs. Leung Chow Kit Ling, when she was studying in primary school in Hong Kong in 1940s, Cantonese was the medium instruction. Students at that time learnt about the history of China, poems of Tang dynasty, “three character classic” and The Analects. Education at that time focused on the learning of calligraphy. Besides calligraphy classes, every assignments of students were being written by writing brushes.

Later in the 1970s, when my mother, Mrs. Sze-To Leung Po Ling, entered primary school in Hong Kong, Cantonese was still the majority language used in classes; however she no longer needed to learn about the “Three Character Classic” and The Analects. Calligraphy classes were compulsory started from primary one. My mother told me that she needed to submit a piece of calligraphy assignment every day.

For me, in the 1990s, when I first entered a primary school in Hong Kong, I started learning calligraphy since primary three. Different from my mother; I just needed to submit a piece of calligraphy homework once a week. Calligraphy class was just held once a week which lasted for around 35 minutes. The biggest difference of learning calligraphy is that my grandmother and my mother learnt to write small letters on each of the small squares on the nine palaces grid. At my age, I just learnt to write big letter which covers all the nine small squares on the nine palaces grid.

At my grandparents’ ages, English classes didn’t exist. My mother told me that primary school she entered was more English-orientated. She had to learn English. She learnt simple conversational English during classes.

At my age for primary schools in 1990s, the subjects were more or less the same as my parents. I entered an English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) primary school. During English classes, the tutors would only speak in English rather than other languages. When students spoke in other languages during English classes, marks would be deducted.

My grandmother told me that students had to learn the use of abacus during Mathematics classes. Students were required to bring the abacus to school every day, used it to learn about the adding and minus method. Moreover, they needed to recite the multiplier table.

The later generations like my parents, me, and my cousin, we didn’t learn the use of abacus anymore. We had to learn some simple mathematical equations instead, also more focused on the brain development, learning reasoning mathematics. We didn’t just learn how to calculate for the right answers, but more emphasized on how to find out the answer and the understandings of the equations.

Besides Chinese, English and Mathematics, my father, Mr. Sze-To Tze Keung, when he entered primary school in Hong Kong in 1970s, he had a wider range of compulsory academic subjects like health education, civic education, science, physical education, art and music classes. As my mother entered a Catholics primary school, religious education class was also a compulsory subject for primary students.

When comparing the academic subjects of 1940s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s, we can see a lot of differences. According to my cousin, Mrs. So Choi Ming Wai, she told me that when her daughter, So Yin Ching, entered primary school in Hong Kong in 2007, although the academic subjects were more or less the same as mine, general reading classes and swimming classes are compulsory classes for a primary one student. Computer classes were held for primary three to primary six students. Calligraphy classes are no longer as important as before, students started learning calligraphy in primary four. A piece of calligraphy homework just needed to hand in once or twice a month.

The difference of education system

My grandmother, Mrs. Leung, and my grandfather, Mr. Leung Wing Fok, they told me that at that time they were very poor. Only rich people can afford the secondary school education. The primary school my grandfather studied in Hong Kong was donated and built by the charity organization. The learning atmosphere was totally different from the later decades. Students had to recite “Three Character Classic” and other Chinese poems loudly in class. If a student couldn’t recite or forgot to complete an assignment, he/she would be hit by a ruler or long stick. However, since 1991, corporal punishment was being banned by the law in Hong Kong. So, the later generations didn’t experience corporal punishment.

The teachings were less diversified when compared to the education in 1970s, 1990s and 2000s. My grandfather told me when he was studying in primary school in the 1940s, the primary school he entered was aimed to teach students how to read and write, because many families were poor and they couldn’t afford the tuition fees for their kids. The education was focused mainly on the morality of a student.

At my parents’ age, there was “six years free education” system promulgated in Hong Kong, kids could receive free primary education. However, there was a public examination for primary six students, fighting for the seats of secondary schools. At my age, the six years free education had been changed to nine years free education. In 2007, it became 12 years free education.

According to my grandparents, they just needed to go to classes for three to four hours every day; At the ages of me and my parents, students chose to go either morning classes or afternoon classes, each section lasted for five hours per day.

As the increasing of academic subjects, my cousin told me that her daughter needed to go to classes for the whole day, from 8:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. The aim of education is no longer just helping students to become literate. My cousin told me that swimming classes are compulsory classes for a primary one student. Schools aim to help a kid develop in different aspects rather than just teaching them write and read.

The world is changing every day and the education system is changing throughout the decades. Hong Kong people are more pressured to compete with others in different aspects. Pressures are started being put on since you are a kid. So, a wider range of academic subjects are required as a better preparation for a kid to grow up in this competing society.