Educators Remain Split On Liberal Studies

Educators, who want the government to change Liberal Studies from a core secondary school subject to an elective one, have rejected Chief Executive Carrie Lam's comment in Legco last week that the debate was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Speaking at RTHK's City Forum, Wong Kwan-yu of the Federation of Education Workers said the subject, which was introduced in 2009, had become politicised. And Choi Kwok-kwong, from the group Education Convergence, said students should be given the chance to choose other subjects, like sciences.

But the Professional Teachers' Union opposes the idea. Its research department director, Cheung Yui-fai, said Liberal Studies already covered scientific topics, such as public health and the environment, as well as those from the humanities.

Liberal studies has been criticised by some pro-establishment figures, who say it has led to some youngsters adopting radical political views. Others say that by making it compulsory, less time is being devoted to the study of Chinese history and culture. A task force was set up last November to review primary and secondary level curriculums.