Kindergartens Urged To Instil National Identity

The Education Secretary, Kevin Yeung, has called on kindergarten teachers to help toddlers and young children develop their national identity through interactive activities.

In a letter sent to all pre-schools ahead of the start of a new school year, Yeung said teachers should take gradual steps towards helping young children build their Chinese identity and understand the Chinese culture like filial piety through activities like story telling and singing of nursery rhymes.

The move comes shortly after Yeung’s boss, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, said in a television interview that one of her priorities over the next year or two is to “set things right” by, for example, strengthening students’ knowledge about the country.

In a separate letter to all primary and secondary schools, the education chief called on teachers to serve as role models and teach students how to express themselves in a peaceful, legal and rational manner, while respecting the views of other people.

He stressed it is important for schools to instil a sense of national identity in students, and nurture them to become law-abiding citizens in future.