Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The principal of Hing Tak School in Tuen Mun has been accused of inflating
the number of registered pupils to support claims for government funding; it’s
time for the school’s management to be overhauled
A badly managed school is not usually a big news story. But the way Hing Tak
School, a primary school in Tuen Mun, has become so dysfunctional it would
have been almost comical but for the terrible effects it may have had on the
well-being of its young pupils.
But clearly, the trouble goes much deeper, as police have been called in to
investigate. None of this might have come to light – or at least not so quickly –
had a few teachers not complained to the Professional Teachers’ Union,
which helped them take their case to the bureau.
The most serious matter is the allegation that school management inflated
student numbers to keep government funding and avoid being targeted for
closure. Twenty-one “shadow” students had allegedly been missing school for
up to two years.
Police are looking into the matter, though the school principal said some of
the missing students – most from the mainland – had been on extended sick
leave; others were kept on the school roster at the request of parents.
The new school year will start next month. All these issues need to be sorted
out before then. Under the Education Ordinance and as the primary funding
body, the bureau has the legal power to demand Hing Tak’s management
committee take over the running of the school as a short-term measure.
Bureau officials need to keep the committee on a tight leash until it can be
overhauled. The school’s sponsoring body is associated with three registered
villages under the Tuen Mun Rural Committee. Its controversial principal,
Chan Cheung-ping, still enjoys the support of rural members on the school’s
management committee despite the revelations.
The latest criticism is voiced by Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, a former Legislative
Council president and the city’s only representative on the Standing
Committee of the National People’s Congress. In a television interview, she
said politically biased teachers were spreading anti-China views [2] and hate
against the communist state via liberal studies. “It is not related to the
Communist Party ... It is related to liberal studies,” Fan said.
It’s an old complaint. If she and other conservative critics had their way, there
would be an overhaul of the compulsory subject in the Diploma of Secondary
Education examination. One reason for their recurrent criticism is that topics
are often taken from news reports on controversial current issues around
politics and the government.
A recent exam question, which seemed to be critical of the city’s tolerance for
freedom of expression and protest culture, caused much controversy. In fact,
study topics and exam questions have been politicised by critics from both
sides who are driven by their own political interests and biases. Liberal
studies courses are doubtless not as well designed as they should be. But
judging from the responses of teachers and students and a recent study, they
keep students moderate rather than radicalise them.
Liberal studies helps open minds, rather than creating radical students [3]
It found the subject had little impact on student activism. Most students said
their sole motivation was to achieve high scores. To this end, they drilled
through assignments and tests to master model answers, which usually
meant stating multiple points of view and presenting both positive and
negative aspects of an issue. The drive for exam-oriented results dampens,
rather than encourages, activism. Those who joined Scholarism said they did
so through communication with peers and information from news media, not
because of liberal studies.
dysfunctional
解決
subsidised
明朗化
troubleshoot
指控
come to light
據稱
allegation
allegedly 不滿
disgruntled 衝進
stormed
後來
subsequently
爭議性
controversial
局
bureau
vehement 激越
hotbeds 溫床
activism 行動
doubtless
毫無疑問
spearheaded
帶領
radicalisation
激進化
大修
功能失調