Hong Kong’s future leaders need an education system fit for challenging times

Graduates should be equipped with more than skills and knowledge – they must be creative problem-solvers capable of innovative thinking and working in teams
They must also learn to prioritise the needs of the community over individual freedom and understand how to deal with ‘fake news’

Kerry Kennedy

Published: 6:45am, 11 Sep 2021

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It seems that normality in any form will be difficult to achieve in Hong Kong. The city is still experiencing the aftermath of the social and political unrest of 2019 and Covid-19 continues to drive our lives, even with a declining caseload.

These two years of disruption have often been dispiriting and at times despairing. At the same time, however, they highlight the need for a resilient education system. Such a system should not only respond to events but lead the way in finding solutions.

Ensuring such a system is in place should be a priority for the Hong Kong government and recognised as a key contribution to the development of the city’s young people.

It should be understood from the start that the education system in Hong Kong has much of which it can be proud. Its students make their presence felt in international tests and its universities achieve high rankings internationally.

Some Hong Kong parents seeking a better education for their children do so because they have the resources to pay for international schools or to send them overseas, or indeed to move overseas themselves. But these options are not available to most families in the city, and it is for them that the city’s education system must excel.

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There is great deal of advice on future education from bodies such as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills to McKinsey’s recent report, “Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work”. The need to consider the future is important and it should certainly include skills, but it needs to include more if young people are to confront the multiple challenges ahead.

In terms of the future, it seems clear that the Greater Bay Area will be attractive to young people looking for a career in high-end industries. These kinds of industries are particularly important for developing Hong Kong as an innovation hub.

Graduates from schools and universities will need to be creative problem-solvers capable of computational thinking and working in teams. They will need to be able to think outside the box to develop new solutions that will address the problems that confront society.

This does not mean abandoning school subjects such as mathematics, science and language. But these subjects need to include a strong skills component.

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At the same time, graduates should also have a strong sense of their history even as their careers help them create the future. Hong Kong is one of the rare jurisdictions in the world where students are not required to study their own history.

There are elements of historical studies in the school curriculum now. Yet, there is no reason history should not become a school subject for all students, even as they look forward to a future of creativity and innovation.

Skills and knowledge will be at the centre of the curriculum. Yet, more will be needed, especially as it relates to values. Resistance to Covid-19 health regulations has undermined government attempts to constrain the virus.

In the future, young people will need to learn how to balance individual and community needs. Asian societies are better placed to do this, so reinforcing the importance of community should become a priority across the school curriculum. Students need to understand that working together will always achieve more than seeking individual ends.

The pandemic has produced its fair share of “fake news”, but such news has exerted a greater impact in the past decade. There are multiple sources of such news and it might come in many different forms, such as peer-to-peer or group messages.

On the other hand, such news can also be found in mainstream media, including newspapers and television. In whatever form it comes, students need to know how to analyse information, including its sources, its claims and evidence provided to support them.

Studying language has always been important, but the ability to distinguish between truth and lies is even more important in the age of fake news. Across subjects, this capacity must be developed and reinforced. A cutting-edge education system cannot shelter students but must prepare them for their roles in society.

A folk song from last century noted that “the times they are a-changin’.” The times are still changing, and the education system must ensure that students can accommodate whatever change comes along.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. They must have the capacity to contribute and serve in times that can only promise more challenges.

Kerry Kennedy is emeritus professor at the Education University of Hong Kong