HONG KONG • The future of a controversial liberal studies course for teenagers in schools - which the pro-Beijing camp in Hong Kong says is partly to blame for unrest in the city - will be decided as part of a wide-ranging review of the education system, Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said.
Mrs Lam said there were people in schools who had deliberately misled students with false and one-sided information, and this was not just limited to liberal studies but other subjects as well, including Mandarin and English.
"We will let everyone know what we intend to do with the future of liberal studies within the year," she said in a newspaper interview. Using a Cantonese phrase, the Hong Kong leader likened the current teaching of the course to an unlocked chicken coop with the birds able to move in and out freely.
Education cannot be unregulated, she said, and when a problem arose it needed to be dealt with.
Liberal studies, one of four compulsory subjects at senior secondary school level, has been blamed for radicalising the younger generation - the key force behind last year's unrest.
Former Hong Kong leader Tung Chee Hwa, a vocal critic of liberal studies, last July called the curriculum "a failure", adding that it was "one of the reasons behind the youth problems today".
The curriculum was initiated by Mr Tung's administration and became mandatory in 2009 for senior secondary school students seeking a Diploma of Secondary Education.
Other critics said the subject had been used as a tool to spread the extreme views of some opposition voices even though its intent was to equip students with critical thinking abilities.
Mrs Lam said the Education Bureau, the management and sponsoring bodies of schools must serve as gatekeepers to prevent the young from being "poisoned" by false and unfair influences.
But her comments riled some teachers, including Mr Atung Chan, who said: "She is not just pointing at liberal studies but also the entire education sector. The teaching materials of the subject are under heavy supervision already, but Carrie Lam mentions also the responsibility of the incorporated management committees (of sponsoring bodies) and of schools, which sounds threatening."
He told The Straits Times that liberal studies textbooks are sent to the Education Bureau for vetting. Complaints would also be made about teachers who post school-based teaching materials on social media, prompting the Education Bureau to investigate the teachers in question or have the schools submit reports about the incidents.
"This move could be harmful to the autonomy of the school and educators, causing unnecessary pressure and disturbance to us," he said.
Lawmaker Ip Kin Yuen, who represents the education sector, demanded an apology from Mrs Lam, saying she had offended the tens of thousands of teachers in the city. He said the unrest stemmed from a tone-deaf government and police brutality, which had nothing to do with teachers.
Mrs Lam had also said government measures to support growth and aid for people's livelihoods have not been passed by the Legislative Council (Legco) because of filibustering by the opposition.
More than 20 Bills have yet to be passed, including the extension of maternity leave from 10 to 14 weeks.
She warned that if the opposition should secure more than half of the Legco seats in September's election, the new council would reject all Bills on the table and government funding applications.
News about the education reform plan came a day after protests made a comeback in the city. Police said 230 people were arrested on Sunday, after some demonstrators set small fires in Mong Kok at night. Many had also gathered elsewhere in malls across the city to chant slogans and sing a protest anthem.
