Making Liberal Studies Elective A Bad Idea: Expert

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2018-05-03 HKT 10:58

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• Making liberal studies elective a bad idea: expert

Tai Hay-lap talks to RTHK's Janice Wong

A member of the Education 2.1 think tank, Tai Hay-lap, said on Thursday that making liberal studies an elective subject will be a bad move.

Tai said the subject was introduced in 2000 as it was felt that it was needed to attain certain goals like helping students improve their critical thinking. "Now we have come to the conclusion it's okay, we can neglect this subject. I don't think this is a good move," he said.

His comment comes as the government undertakes a broad review of the curricula for local primary and secondary schools. Media reports have said the review will include looking at potentially turning liberal studies back into an elective subject, and scrapping its current grading scale to just pass or fail.

Some in the education sector fear this may be politically motivated.

Tai told RTHK's Janice Wong that everything gets politicised in Hong Kong now and educators should focus less on politics and more on students' real needs.