'Rule Of Law Too Hard For Secondary Pupils To Learn'

A history professor in charge of reforming the Liberal Studies curriculum on Friday said that concepts of "rule of law" and "social governance" were not included in the new subject Citizenship and Social Development's framework, because class time was limited.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Lau Chi-pang said secondary students may not easily understand the concepts, and so they were no longer included in the framework of chapters relating to the mainland - one of the subject's three themes.

"[Concepts of] rule of law and infrastructure often involve national policies, and require higher-level observation and thinking. It may take much time to teach such topics," he said.

Professor Lau said it's hard for many curricula to be comprehensive, saying that history knowledge is also required to learn about the political system thoroughly.

Lau, who heads a Curriculum Development Council committee that renamed the high school subject, said students can learn about the concepts in an in-depth manner at university.

He also said that the subject should no longer be stigmatised after the reform, because they've not only changed the name of the subject, but also its vision and assessment method.

The Liberal Studies subject was widely criticised by pro-government figures for inciting students to join anti-government protests in 2019.

After the revamp, students will be taught the constitutional relationship between the SAR and the nation and the safeguarding of national security, among other things.